Martial Arts News

Kevin Lee believes a political speech he gave in 2019 changed his MMA career. 

Lee delivered a speech campaigning for presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, who is a longtime political rival of President Donald Trump. Lee was coming off a bonus-winning stoppage over Gregor Gillespie when Sanders’ team contacted him. Lee had no monetary incentive to campaign for Sanders, who he thought would win the election in 2020.

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“My career really started going south after that Gregor fight,” Lee recently told Eric Cerminara. “Because I decided to get political, shoutout to Bernie Sanders. And then I went and I spoke for Bernie Sanders at this convention or something. His people reached out to me, they were like, ‘Hey, you want to do a little speech?’ I was like, ‘Sure.’ No money, I just did it – felt like it was cool, I thought he would be president.”

Lee believes his relationship with the UFC was ruined due to his speech supporting Sanders. Lee was then bo…

Kai Asakura believes he has found the right weight class for himself. 

Asakura (22-6) took on Cameron Smotherman in a bantamweight tilt at UFC Macau on Saturday Asakura violently knocked out Smotherman less than two minutes into the opening round, also earning himself a $100,000 performance bonus. The Japanese standout believes he may finally have found his right weight class after moving up from flyweight.

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The Right Move “Having moved up to this division and having actually done this fight, I definitely do feel like this is the right one for me,” Asakura said in a post-fight interview with the UFC. “I think in terms of the power, the strength and the speed this division is right for me.”

Asakura came to the UFC as the highly-touted Rizin Fighting Federation bantamweight champion. However, Asakura started his UFC career at flyweight, where he took on the toughest matchup, challenging Alexandre Pantoja for the title in 2024. Pantoja derailed …

Sergei Pavlovich is back to being a feared knockout artist. 

Pavlovich took on Tallison Teixeira in a heavyweight matchup at UFC Macau on Saturday. Pavlovich took 39 seconds to shut the lights on Teixeira with a vicious combination. This was Pavlovich’s first stoppage win since 2023. The Russian knockout artist admits that he was trying to put on a technical display in his last few outings, which didn’t work out very well. 

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“Really great feeling,” Pavlovich said in a post-fight interview with the UFC. “Couple of fights back it was all about being technical, about trying to show some skills, but we weren’t able to do that. Now finally everything worked out and I’m really happy about it.” Tall Task Pavlovich and his team studied a lot of tape on Teixeira, who stands four inches taller than him.   “This is the second opponent I had that’s almost 2 meters in height, over 6 [feet] something,” Pavlovich said. “We looked at all of his fi…

Darren Till’s post-UFC winning streak has carried over to BKFC.

Till (18-5) made his BKFC debut against Aaron Chalmers on Saturday at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham, England. Till knocked Chalmers out cold with a left hand early in the second round. 

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While this was Till’s bare-knuckle boxing debut, Chalmers had finished both of his previous BKFC fights. Till parted ways with the UFC in 2022 on a three-fight skid.

While “The Gorilla” promised to return to the UFC, the promotion’s brass didn’t seem very excited about the idea. Till had a long period of inactivity after leaving the UFC, which was partly due to canceled boxing matches. Till returned to action last year, defeating Anthony Taylor and fellow UFC veterans Darren Stewart and Luke Rockhold in boxing matches. 

Till Rocks Chalmers

😱💥 Darren Till GETS THE SECOND ROUND KO IN HIS BKFC DEBUT!! pic.twitter.com/yzVil6hAsL

— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) …

Arman Tsarukyan continues his dominant run at Real American Freestyle. 

Tsarukyan (23-3) took on Keelon Jimison aka “Mugzy” at RAF 9 on Saturday in Arlington, Texas. Tsarukyan defeated Jimison via tech fall in the first period.

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This was Tsarukyan fifth straight victory in wrestling under the RAF banner. However, none of the opponents “Ahalkalakets” has faced so far were on his level. “Mugzy” is an influencer wrestler like Georgio Poullas, who Tsarukyan defeated twice at RAF. Tsarukyan has also defeated former PFL champion Lance Palmer and former UFC champion Urijah Faber.

Tsarukyan is now scheduled to wrestle Tony Ferguson at RAF 10 on June 13. Meanwhile, Tsarukyan is losing out on his prime years waiting for a UFC lightweight title shot. 

Tsarukyan Handles ‘Mugzy’

Arman Tsarukyan just beat Mugzy via tech fall in the first period at RAF 09 🔥

He's now 5-0 in RAFpic.twitter.com/H3jqBBssgB

— Championshi…

UFC Oklahoma City could see a potential change of guard at middleweight. 

Former middleweight title challenger Jared Cannonier is set to face Chris Leroy Duncan at UFC Fight Night 281 on July 18 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. MagicM was first to report the booking on social media, and it was later officially confirmed by the UFC. The Las Vegas-based promotion also recently announced a welterweight clash pitting Kevin Holland against Jacobe Smith.

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Gatekeeper vs. Rising Talent While Cannonier (18-9) has been a perennial contender at middleweight, he has recently taken up the role of a gatekeeper at the top of the division. “The Killa Gorilla” has dropped three of his last four, with the losses coming against elite opponents in Nassourdine Imavov, Caio Borralho and Michael Page. 

Meanwhile, Duncan (14-2) is on a four-fight winning streak that includes two spinning backfist knockouts. The Englishman suffered his last loss in 2024 agai…

Eddie Hearn says Tom Aspinall is one of the most underpaid athletes in professional sports. 

Hearn is the former manager of boxer Conor Benn, who was recently poached by Zuffa Boxing, which the UFC’s parent company owns. Benn signed a $15 million contract, sparking dissent among UFC fighters. When Hearn criticized the signing, Dana White said that the Matchroom Boxing chairman should instead be happy for Benn earning as much as he can. 

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Hearn now looks to give White a taste of his own medicine. Hearn recently started managing UFC heavyweight champion. Hearn called for Aspinall's release from the UFC, although it didn’t seem very sincere. Hearn guarantees he can arrange for Aspinall to be paid three times what he is earning in the UFC. Hearn notes that according to White’s own ideology, he should be happy for Aspinall to be earning as much as possible. Doubling down on his criticism of Aspinall’s contract, Hearn says “Honey Badger” is one o…

While Carlos Prates has no plans of fighting again before he gets a title shot, he would fight Michael Morales if he had to. 

Prates (24-7) demolished former welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena at UFC Perth earlier this month to firmly establish himself as a contender. However, Prates believes Ian Garry, who previously defeated him, will challenge Islam Makhachev for the welterweight title next. Prates is confident that he will be next in line for a title shot against the winner of the fight between Makhachev and Garry. 

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According to Prates, Garry will likely challenge Makhachev at UFC 330 on Aug. 15 in Philadelphia. Prates has no issues waiting for a shot against the winner of the fight. However, that could stall the UFC welterweight title picture until next year. If Prates has to fight again in the meantime, he would pick undefeated Ecuadorian contender Morales (19-0).Considering the Possibilities“If I have no choice, if I have to…

Top UFC athletes are undergoing treatment at Ways2Well on Joe Rogan’s recommendation. 

Sean Strickland recently revealed that he suffered a minor muscle tear in his right shoulder. Strickland is now undergoing treatment at Ways2Well in Austin, Texas, on Rogan’s recommendation.

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“Real small tear,” Strickland said on Instagram. “Ways2Well, they’re gonna fix me up. Joe Rogan got me to this place, he swears by it. We're gonna get back in the cage soon.”

Strickland also said that he won’t have to undergo surgery to get his shoulder fixed. 

Good CompanyJon Jones had also been treated at Ways2Well earlier this year on Rogan’s recommendation. Jones primarily underwent treatment for arthritis in his hips. 

Strickland (30-7) won the UFC middleweight title for the second time with a monumental upset win over Khamzat Chimaev earlier this month. While Chimaev is eyeing a rematch, Strickland has expressed interest in defending his title agai…

Merab Dvalishvili has some unexplained animosity towards Umar Nurmagomedov. 

Dvalishvili lost his bantamweight title in a rematch against Petr Yan at UFC 323 this past December. Dvalishvili now expects to challenge Yan for the title in a trilogy. Meanwhile, former champion Sean O’Malley is scheduled to fight top contender Aiemann Zahabi at UFC White House on June 14. 

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Dvalishvili was recently attending a presser for his upcoming wrestling match against Frankie Edgar at RAF 9. Dvalishvili was asked if he would consider a rematch against Nurmagomedov in case the winner of O’Malley vs. Zahabi jumped the queue for the next title shot. Dvalishvili confidently doubled down on his claims of a confirmed trilogy against Yan. “The Machine” then completely dismissed Nurmagomedov.Bad Blood Lingers “What kind of question is this?” Dvalishvsili said. “I’m sure you know I’m fighting Petr Yan, it's gonna be trilogy. He beat me last fight and we have to fi…

Arman Tsarukyan isn’t very excited about the backup spot for the UFC White House main event. 

Ilia Topuria will look to defend his lightweight title against interim champion Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250 on June 14 at the White House. Dana White recently announced that Tsarukyan is the official backup fighter for the lightweight title fight at the White House. 

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However, with no injuries reported, hardly two weeks ahead of the fight, Tsarukyan doesn’t think his services will be needed. Tsarukyan also notes that he is scheduled to wrestle Tony Ferguson at RAF 10 on June 13, which will be the same day as the weigh-ins for the UFC White House card.Booked Until September “I’m booked until September already… I have wrestling match on June 13, we’ll see,” Tsarukyan said while attending a presser for his RAF 9 wrestling match against “Mugzy.” “I am a backup, but everything is going good, two weeks left, I think they’re gonna fight. So, I’m gonn…

Overweight military personnel aren’t welcome to the UFC White House event. 

The UFC is hosting a one-of-a-kind event at the White House on June 14 to celebrate America’s 250th year of independence. The event also coincides with President Donald Trump’s birthday. 

While there will be no tickets for the general public, 4,300 special guests, mostly members of the military, will watch the event at the South Lawn of the White House. Meanwhile, 85,000 free tickets will be available for the general public to watch the event on screen at the nearby Ellipse. 

Good for Optics?Military personnel allegedly need to meet fitness requirements to be eligible to attend the event. According to a screenshot of an invite shared on social media, “Ticket recipients are required to meet the DOD waist-to-height ratio standard of less than 0.55, as well as all service-specific physical fitness test requirements.” The tickets are also not transferable, even to family member…