Martial Arts News

Dricus Du Plessis has accused former Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholder Kamaru Usman of delaying their bout.

While Usman and du Plessis are now confirmed to be squaring off at UFC Oklahoma City on July 18, the latter claims “The Nigerian Nightmare” wasn’t keen on the matchup. Ahead of the two former champions’ clash, du Plessis has revealed that the UFC had to convince Usman to sign the contract.

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Dricus Du Plessis claims Kamaru Usman didn’t want UFC fight contract The UFC Oklahoma City main event announcement was left until the 11th hour, despite du Plessis claiming weeks earlier that he’d been offered a fight and was waiting for his opponent to sign the contract. With the Fight Night headlining bout now confirmed, “Stillknocks” has opened up about how it came together.

“He didn’t want to sign the contract. I know that for a fact,” du Plessis said in an interview with Fight Forecast. “I spoke to the UFC and they said, ‘We finally convinced…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship recently released never-before-seen footage of Conor McGregor’s toe injury that caused his bout with Michael Chandler bout get scrapped.

McGregor (22-6) is set to return to action after a five-year hiatus against Max Holloway (27-9) at UFC 329 on July 11 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. However, fans remain skeptical about the Irishman’s return as this isn’t the first time since 2021 that the Dubliner has been booked to fight.

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McGregor hasn’t fought since breaking his leg in a trilogy loss against Dustin Poirier in 2021. However, the former UFC double champ repeatedly teased a return against Chandler, who spent over a year waiting for the matchup to materialize.

McGregor was finally booked to fight Chandler at UFC 303 in 2024. However, “The Notorious” pulled out of the bout 16 days before the scheduled date due to a toe injury.

How Conor McGregor's toe injury happened before UFC 303In the UFC 329 “Countdown” v…

Johnny Eblen believes that Costello van Steenis could have made the walk at the Professional Fighters League’s upcoming fight card in Austin, Texas.

Eblen was slated to face van Steenis in the July 18 PFL Austin main event at Moody Center. However, the latter withdrew due to an injury. Eblen, who lost to van Steenis at PFL Africa 1 in July 2025, won’t have a shot at redemption just yet and will instead face Impa Kasanganay for the interim title.

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The American has now slammed his Dutch-Spanish counterpart for pulling out.Johnny Eblen questions Costello van Steenis injury before PFL Austin main event Eblen shared his reaction to van Steenis backing out of the fight. He isn’t sold on the extent of the current PFL champion’s injury and speculates that his former foe just wants more time to train.

“I want to stay active, and he didn't want to fight [in] July… He wanted to push it to later so, it is what it is,” Eblen told MMAJunkie. “He's being a bitch…

Josh Hokit has dissected Tom Aspinall’s fighting style and sees weaknesses.

Hokit recently claimed that the problem with the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight king’s style is that he’s too offensive-minded. The surging contender has grown in popularity since his win at UFC Freedom 250, and he now has his sights set on gold.

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Josh Hokit evaluates Tom Aspinall fighting weaknesses in UFC heavyweight division Hokit took to X to react to a clip of Aspinall’s fight against Alexander Volkov in London back in 2022.

“He’s to [sic] offensive minded.. that makes things exciting until a proper athlete is able to compete with his athleticism.. his strength is also his weakness..”

Notably, Hokit has previously called for the UFC to cut Aspinall from the roster, claiming that Ciryl Gane made him “quit” when they locked horns last year.

Aspinall will likely take on interim champion Gane next in a title unification bout, putting Hokit out of co…

Ahead of their rematch, Max Holloway has revealed what will be different this time around against Conor McGregor.

McGregor ends his five-year hiatus from the Ultimate Fighting Championship against Holloway, 13 years after their first meeting. They squared off on Aug. 17, 2013, at UFC Fight Night 26 in Boston, where the Irishman emerged victorious via decision. Holloway has now addressed two key aspects of his preparation that he believes will boost his performance at UFC 329.

Max Holloway training changes for Conor McGregor UFC 329 rematchIn an interview with ESPN MMA, Holloway discussed how his training camp went. With his upcoming bout being contested at welterweight, “Blessed” made sure to leave no stone unturned in preparation. He even roped in former 170-pound champion Jack Della Maddalena for assistance.

“I think it's going to be a fun fight, man. I think it’d be great. I mean, I don't know if you guys saw on or if you've been keeping up with the YouTube, but …

Max Holloway has revealed how his UFC 329 rematch with Conor McGregor came together.

Ahead of their fight on July 11 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the former featherweight and BMF champion has detailed how it came to fruition. Considering McGregor had last fought five years ago and was seemingly preoccupied with other endeavors, few expected the Irishman to actually make a return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

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Holloway, who’s set to welcome “The Notorious” back to the Octagon, was pleasantly surprised to receive the official fight contract.Max Holloway and Conor McGregor UFC 329 fight contract details While Holloway always knew that a fight against McGregor was a possibility, he was also wary of the Irishman’s unpredictability outside the cage. “I mean, we kind of got, you know, it's like throughout the years, you kind of hear like, hey, yeah, you know, maybe Conor, maybe Conor, maybe Conor, you know, and um there's no difference. The last…

Charles Oliveira is the latest Ultimate Fighting Championship athlete to pile on the criticism of referee Herb Dean.

The former UFC lightweight champion and current BMF titleholder has slammed Dean’s lack of action towards Ciryl Gane and broke down the much-discussed illegal strikes landed against Alex Pereira during the UFC Freedom 250 co-main event. Gane ultimately won the fight, and “do Bronxs” has now raised concerns over the referee’s influence.

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Charles Oliveira criticizes Herb Dean after controversial UFC Freedom 250 fight between Ciryl Gane and Alex Pereira “Poatan reacted the right way [after the knockdown], going for the legs to defend,” Oliveira told MMA Fighting. “Then, in the middle of that chaos—not because he’s Brazilian, but the whole world saw it and it was obvious—some shots landed to the back of the head when they shouldn’t have.”

Henry Cejudo, Jorge Masvidal and Dominick Cruz are among those who’ve publicly criticized Dean so f…

Weight classes are not a barrier for Max Holloway.

Holloway (27-9) is scheduled to take on Conor McGregor (22-6) in a welterweight matchup at UFC 329 on July 11 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. While McGregor is returning from five years of inactivity, Holloway will be making his debut at 170 pounds. Many believe former featherweight champion Holloway could be at a size disadvantage.

However, Ultimate Fighting Championship commentator Jon Anik recently revealed that Holloway plans to get even heavier eventually. Anik claims that “Blessed” told him around a decade ago that he wanted to fight at middleweight before hanging up his gloves.

Max Holloway UFC 329 welterweight debut explained“Max Holloway said to me 8 or 9 years ago that he was going to take a UFC fight at middleweight before all was said and done,” Anik told Submission Radio. “So I’m fascinated to see how his frame looks on the scale and what he looks like as a UFC welterweight.”

Holloway moved up to l…

Jose Aldo, a former foe of Conor McGregor and Max Holloway, has weighed in on the UFC 329 headliner.

McGregor returns to action in the Ultimate Fighting Championship five years after his in-cage leg break at UFC 264 back in 2021. The 37-year-old is looking to return to winning ways and record a second victory over Holloway 13 years after their first bout. Aldo, who has shared the Octagon with both fan-favorites, recently previewed the matchup.

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Jose Aldo explains his UFC 329 prediction for Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway Aldo, who fought McGregor back in 2015, believes the Irishman is a live underdog against Holloway.

“For me, it’s a very competitive fight,” the Brazilian legend told Covers.com. “McGregor may be the betting underdog, but honestly, I think he has a better chance of beating Max today than he had of beating Khabib back then.”

Aldo highlighted Holloway’s activity and how that’ll play a key role in the fight, which is why he give…

A controversial stoppage is creating headlines in boxing again.

Abdullah Mason (21-0) put his WBO lightweight title on the line against Albert Bell (28-1) on Saturday at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland. Mason, 22, the youngest current boxing world champion, didn’t find momentum in the early rounds. However, the Cleveland native turned the tide in the latter rounds, scoring two knockdowns, the second of which led to the stoppage, albeit not without controversy.

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Mason dropped Bell with a left hook early in the final frame that didn’t appear to have connected flush. Just as Bell got back to a knee, referee Mark Nelson shockingly stopped the fight with protests from the challenger. The stoppage faced severe backlash from fans as Bell seemed to have gone down from exhaustion rather than the impact of Mason’s shot.Referee's shocking stoppage overshadows Abdullah Mason's title defenseThe boxing world has hardly healed from Rico Verhoeven’s controversial st…

Ilia Topuria seems to be taking his first professional loss well.

Topuria (17-1) was a massive favorite going into his Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight title unification bout against Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250. However, Gaethje pulled off the upset, leaving “El Matador” bloodied up and struggling to see.

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This forced his corner to stop the fight after the fourth round. Topuria was seen trying to cover his face as he left the Octagon with his brother, Aleksandre Topuria, by his side.Ilia Topuria is in good spirits and healing fast Apart from suffering the first loss of his professional career, Topuria repeatedly predicted a first-round knockout win and celebrated a day before fight night, adding to the weight of the defeat. Nevertheless, he’s in high spirits less than a month after his loss to Gaethje, and he’s healed considerably. The former two-division champ was recently seen rejoicing with his team. While Topuria’s nose still appe…

Professional Fighters League star Impa Kasanganay claims the PFL has the strongest crop of middleweights.

Kasanganay is set to face former middleweight champion Johnny Eblen at PFL Austin on Saturday, July 18, for the interim middleweight title, the first-ever interim championship fight in PFL history. Ahead of the bout, the former Ultimate Fighting Championship talent has reiterated his belief that his current promotion’s 185-pound roster is as good as it gets.

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Impa Kasanganay explains why he rates the PFL middleweight division above the rest Kasanganay believes that the top tier of PFL’s middleweight division is a reflection of the best 185-pounders in the world. In a promotional video posted by the PFL on X, "Tshilobo" said:

“What makes this matchup so competitive, you know, is the best middleweights in the world, right? I mean it. Across organizations, you say, OK, who are the best guys at what they do? I’m there, Johnny’s there, and you see …