Martial Arts News

Do vision boards work? Ask Carlos Prates.

Prates (24-7) took on former champion Jack Della Maddalena (18-4) at UFC Perth last weekend. Prates picked apart Maddalena, leaving the gritty Australian wincing in pain by the third round. “The Nightmare” inflicted relentless punishment until Maddalena crumbled.

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Prates recently revealed that he had “manifested” his win over Maddalena. Prates showed scribblings on his mirror that said he would beat Maddalena and be a champion someday. Prates said on Instagram:

“What happened on Saturday was already written a long time ago. ‘I’m going to knock out Jack Della Maddalena.’ ‘I’m going to beat JDM.’ ‘I’m going to knock out JDM.’ This was already written a long time ago. ‘I’m going to become a champion,’” as translated by Championship Rounds on X, formerly known as Twitter.

While vision boards serve as a source of affirmation and motivation, one’s dreams can only be manifested into reality by hard work. Pra…

Nate Diaz is the only matchup desired enough for Dustin Poirier to come out of retirement.

A matchup between Poirier and Diaz is one of the most anticipated bouts that never came to fruition. However, Poirier is still willing to come out of retirement to fight Diaz.

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Poirier and Diaz were scheduled to fight at UFC 230 in 2018 at Madison Square Garden in New York. The fight fell through as Poirier was allegedly forced out due to a hip injury. However, Poirier claims the narrative was slightly manipulated. According to “The Diamond,” he was willing to fight Diaz, who was having negotiation issues with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Poirier claims the UFC offered him alternative opponents for UFC 230. However, Poirier only wanted to fight Diaz, or have a hip surgery instead of fighting anyone else. Poirier claims Diaz manipulated the narrative and blamed him for the fight falling through.

“I still wanna whip Nate’s a**... I’ll come back to fight h…

Quillan Salkilld has always imagined competing against fighters like Mateusz Gamrot.

Salkilld knocked out Beneil Dariush in the first round of the co-main event at UFC Perth last weekend. Salkilld subsequently called for a matchup against Gamrot. Explaining his callout, Salkilld says that he is a fan of Gamrot’s scrappy style of wrestling. The Australian has also recently watched a lot of tape of Gamrot’s 2022 loss to Dariush. Considering Gamrot’s slot in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s official rankings, Salkilld believes it is a good time for him to fight the Pole. While Salkilld is known for his knockout power, he wants to test himself on the mat against Gamrot.

“I love watching Gamrot,” Salkilld told MMA Junkie. “I like the wrestling style; he has an exciting wrestling style where he just hits scrambles. And I was watching him vs. Beneil many times leading up to the Beneil fight. He is the kind of fight I’ve always pictured myself having. He just had a good …

Jorge Masvidal believes his American Top Team stablemate Movsar Evloev has a different kind of momentum.

Evloev is currently considered the frontrunner for the next featherweight title shot against Alexander Volkanovski. Masvidal recently predicted that Evloev will dethrone Volkanovski in a potential fight. Masvidal notes that he had also correctly predicted Evloev’s last win over fellow contender Lerone Murphy. According to “Gamebred,” Evloev will only become more dangerous soon as he peaks physically.

“I’m saying it here right now. Movsar beats Volkanovski… I said he was going to beat Murphy,” Masvidal told UFC on Paramount. “I love Volk. But right now, Movsar is on a different level… That gear that Movsar has… And it’s only going to get tougher for people because he is coming more into his groove, more into his prime physically. I think he beats Volk right now.”

Despite being widely considered the top featherweight contender for a long time, Evloev (20-0) has…

Brendan Allen wants to avenge his loss against Sean Strickland.

Strickland is scheduled to challenge Khamzat Chimaev for the middleweight title in the main event at UFC 328 on May 9 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Allen is currently training with Chimaev to prepare for his upcoming fight against Edmen Shahbazyan.

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Strickland recently went on an unprovoked tirade against Allen. Strickland called Allen a woman who isn’t worth training with. Strickland also said that his training partner Johnny Eblen could “f*ck” Allen if he wanted to, though Eblen clearly said he doesn’t intend to.

Allen says he doesn’t even know where Strickland’s hatred against him stems from. Allen also doesn’t think highly of Eblen, who is considered one of the best fighters outside the UFC. Allen believes his Kill Cliff FC training partner, Impa Kasanganay, was robbed off a win against Eblen in 2024. “All-In” also notes that his training partner Costello van Steenis …

Sean Brady recently made some shocking claims about his UFC 322 fight against Michael Morales.

Brady took on fellow welterweight contender Morales at UFC 322 this past November at Madison Square Garden in New York. Morales looked nearly flawless while knocking Brady out in the first round. While Brady blames only himself, he claims he wasn’t fully focused on his fight against Morales.

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Brady recently revealed that he was told that the fight was off a couple of days before it happened. While Brady didn’t divulge many details, he says it was something to do with the medicals. According to Brady, the matchup was tentative for a couple of days and was only confirmed just hours before he left for the arena.

“I won’t say too many details, something with the medicals to where we found out on Thursday that the fight might not happen,” Brady recently told MMA Fighting. “So it was a lot up in the air for the next two days if this fight was even going to happen…

Robert Whittaker believes the UFC 328 headliner will be a one-sided fight.

Khamzat Chimaev (15-0) is scheduled to defend his middleweight title against Sean Strickland (30-7) in the main event at UFC 328 on May 9 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Chimaev is a massive -590 favorite going into the fight against Strickland, a +390 underdog.

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However, Strickland’s trash talk and confidence almost make one doubt the odds. Many fans and pundits are also not counting Strickland out due to his elite defensive wrestling.

Chimaev’s former foe, Whittaker, admits that Strickland’s trash talk almost convinces him that the American can pull off an upset. However, having shared the Octagon with Chimaev, Whittaker does not doubt that “Borz” will take Strickland down. While there used to be concerns about Chimaev’s gas tank, Whittaker notes that the undefeated champion diminished that perception in his dominant, unanimous decision title win over Dricus Du …

Alex Pereira is far from impartial when it comes to the UFC 328 main attraction.

Sean Strickland (30-7) is scheduled to challenge Khamzat Chimaev (15-0) for the middleweight title in the main event at UFC 328. The two will collide on May 9 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. To get some hard sparring in, Strickland roped in Pereira to help finalize his camp. The two former foes collided at UFC 276 in 2022, with “Poatan” crushing Strickland in the first round. An unlikely friendship bloomed from the one-sided shellacking.

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Due to their growing kinship, Pereira will be rooting hard for friend Strickland. “Poatan” says he had learned a lot since he started working with Strickland a few years ago, so much so that he has become a cornerman for Strickland. Pereira lauded Strickland’s precise jab as one of the American’s best weapons, while prognosticating that the jab and front kick will be key weapons against Chimaev’s wrestling pressure. Perei…

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…