Martial Arts News

Terence Crawford on why he spoke out following Ilia Topuria's loss to Justin Gaethje:

"I didn't know who he was until he came out saying he would knock me and Canelo out, and I'm like, 'Who's this guy?'

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This is the guy that everybody talked about... Everybody's saying he got… pic.twitter.com/0655kdcoGf — Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) July 1, 2026

Ilia Topuria had rubbed a lot of people the wrong way during his meteoric rise.

Topuria’s (17-1) perfect record was broken by Justin Gaethje in their lightweight title fight at the White House last month. While the former was a massive favorite, Gaethje landed significant damage in the third and fourth rounds, forcing Topuria’s corner to throw in the towel after the fourth in a shocking upset.

Boxing legend Terence Crawford was among those quick to address the result after the fight.

Why Terence Crawford took issue with lia Topuria's comments Crawford, who was in att…

Diego Lopes celebrates following his win at "UFC Freedom 250." | 📷: Getty/UFC

Diego Lopes is pondering a change of scenery.

The two-time Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight title challenger is debating leaving the weight class, claiming that he wants to compete at lightweight in his next fight. Lopes last fought at UFC Freedom 250, where he finished Steve Garcia.

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Diego Lopes lightweight move and UFC featherweight title picture While Lopes is still among the top featherweights, two losses to current champion Alexander Volkanovski puts him far from title contention, and his next move potentially opens up new possibilities.

“It’s a little difficult.,” Lopes told MMA Fighting. “As long as Volkanovski doesn’t retire, it’s going to be hard to get another title shot. I’d have to be rooting for him to lose, but I’d rather see him retire as champion because he was such a great champion for the division. I’m definitely in a bit of …

Despite coming up short in his two previous attempts at undisputed gold in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Justin Gaethje never lost faith.

Gaethje became an undisputed champion for the first time at UFC Freedom 250 at the White House in Washington, D.C., and it wasn’t an easy path. After nearly being finished in the second round courtesy of a body shot, Gaethje rallied and bounced back to beat Ilia Topuria in a massive upset in the main event.

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Gaethje previously lost by submission to Khabib Nurmagomedov and Charles Oliveira in championship bouts, in addition to losing the BMF belt via knockout to Max Holloway. Nevertheless, “The Highlight” always knew he’d achieve his goals.Justin Gaethje reflects on his path to gloryDuring the latest episode the “What Hones You” podcast, Trevor Wittman, Gaethje’s coach, asked the champ about the doubts he had regarding whether he’d actually become an undisputed champion. The UFC lightweight replied, “I mean, …

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has added several new bouts to UFC 330, which goes down in Philadelphia on Aug. 15.UFC 330 adds more firepowerIn his second fight since a brief retirement, Jalin Turner returns to action against Kaue Fernandes. Also on the card, veteran welterweight Neil Magny will take on Ramiz Brahimaj. Furthermore, Geoff Neal will lock horns with Chidi Njokuani and Mansur Abdul-Malik will aim to return to winning ways against Dustin Stoltzfus.

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UFC 330 is to be headlined by Islam Makhachev defending his welterweight title against Ian Garry. Mackenzie Dern will defend her strawweight title against Gillian Robertson in the co-main event.

Other fights on the card include ranked flyweights Erin Blanchfield and Jasmine Jasudavicius colliding, Jeremiah Wells taking on Myktybek Orolbai at welterweight, Vicente Luque against Tresean Gore at middleweight and veteran lightweight Edson Barboza toeing the line with Esteban Ribovics.

UFC 33…

Mario Bautista doesn’t want to leave it up to the judges in his upcoming fight.

Bautista is set to take on Cory Sandhagen in a bantamweight matchup at UFC 329 on July 11 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. He believes Sandhagen has a clear wrestling disadvantage against him, and plans to push the pace early.

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Mario Bautista On His Game Plan For Cory Sandhagen With his last fight being a decision loss, Bautista doesn’t want to let Sandhagen use his evasive movement to bank rounds. Their upcoming clash being a three-rounder, he is eager to avoid leaving it to the judges.

Eyeing a definitive finish, Bautista told Home of Fight: “I’m gonna be hunting that finish. I think it’s obvious where he’s not really the best, which is on the mat. So I’m gonna be hunting for that finish. Pushing hard. We got three rounds. So I’m gonna have to get on the gas right away. I can’t just let him get away with a decision and run around or anything. I think it’s gonna be an exc…

Valter Walker has Rousimar Palhares-esque plans for Josh Hokit.

Hokit’s rapid rise to stardom in the Ultimate Fighting Championship has been fueled by his brazen trash talk that has fans divided. Walker recently noted that the American heavyweight had insulted his home country of Brazil ahead of his Dana White’s Contender Series fight against Guilherme Uriel last year.

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Walker believes he will eventually cross paths with Hokit inside the Octagon. Known for his heel hook submissions, the Brazilian is confident that he will catch “The Incredible Hok” with one.

Furthermore, he claims he doesn’t want to let go even if Hokit taps. Walker wants to send the American to surgery for a broken foot. However, he might have to reconsider if doesn’t want to get banned forever like Palhares, who was notorious for holding on to leglocks far too long.

Walker told Home of Fight: “This guy is no problem for me. This guy, Josh Hokit, I can break his leg. But pleas…

Josh Hokit is trying to set himself up for a heavyweight title shot in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Heavyweight king Tom Aspinall has been sidelined due to an eye injury suffered in his first title defense against Ciryl Gane last October, which ended in a no contest. Gane then won the interim title with his technical knockout victory over Alex Pereira at UFC Freedom 250, and Hokit has now addressed all the aforementioned heavyweights.

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Gane’s win over Pereira wasn’t without controversy, as yet another foul from the Frenchman became a talking point in the aftermath. “Poatan” alleges strikes to the back of his head played a key role in the finishing sequence and has since repeatedly berated veteran referee Herb Dean for his handling of the situation.

Hokit has now taken to social media to mock Pereira’s complaints. He also recommended that the UFC cut Aspinall from the roster. The unbeaten heavyweight believes Gane made Aspinall quit and that …

Max Holloway avoided wrestling in high school for a hilarious reason.

While Holloway is considered one of the best strikers in Ultimate Fighting Championship history, “Blessed” isn’t known for his wrestling. He recently disclosed why he didn’t take to wrestling as a teen and the humorous irony behind it.

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Max Holloway’s Reason for Avoiding Wrestling is Absolutely Classic Holloway recently revealed that he didn’t learn wrestling in high school because he didn’t want to wear a singlet.

However, considering Holloway now fights in packed arenas wearing just tight shorts, the Hawaiian believes he should have just done the needful to learn wrestling.

“A bunch of my friends were trying to get me into wrestling. But I wasn’t about to be caught dead in a singlet. Are you crazy? At first, I thought that was crazy,” Holloway told UFC reporter Megan Olivi. “But now look at me. I’m 30-something years old; I use tights to fight. Like, what the hell? I shoul…

Sean Strickland sincerely promotes his training partners.

Strickland occasionally trains with Professional Fighters League middleweight Johnny Eblen (17-1) at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida. Eblen is scheduled to fight Impa Kasanganay (20-6) for the interim PFL middleweight title on July 18 at PFL Austin and the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champ is backing his compatriot to come out on top.

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Sean Strickland wants to see Johnny Eblen in the UFC Strickland believes Eblen will go on to win the PFL middleweight title. While it’s hard to decipher when the polarizing champion is joking around and when he’s serious, Strickland claims he’ll then take on Eblen for the UFC title.

“This guy’s a savage. This guy’s gonna win the [PFL] belt, go to the UFC, he’s gonna get one fight, and then we’re gonna fight for the belt,” Strickland said on Instagram Stories. “I don’t know who’s gonna f**king win, but we’re gonna f**king fight.” Read more

Sean Strickland is humble in defeat, at least inside the gym.

Strickland recently trained with fellow Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholder Kayla Harrison at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida, where he got a first-hand feel for the Olympian’s grappling ability.

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Kayla Harrison’s Judo Skills Impress Sean Strickland at American Top Team After training with Strickland, Harrison uploaded a video on her Instagram Stories, wherein she asked the reigning middleweight champion: “Who f**ked you up?”

Strickland (31-7) then admitted that Harrison (19-1) made him tap out multiple times. “[Kayla] tapped me out like 20 times. She did some Japanese throws I can’t pronounce because I'm American.”

Harrison made her UFC debut in 2024 before dethroning Julianna Pena to win the bantamweight title in her third promotional outing. The two-time Olympic gold medallist judoka was scheduled to defend her title against Amanda Nunes earlier this year at U…

Gillian Robertson is not completely off of marijuana even during her fight camps.

Robertson is a known advocate of marijuana and a regular consumer. She is scheduled to challenge Mackenzie Dern for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s women’s strawweight title at UFC 330 on Aug. 15 at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia.

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Robertson recently discussed her marijuana consumption habits leading up to her first UFC title shot. While UFC has removed marijuana from its list of banned substances, some athletic commissions still don’t allow athletes to compete under the active influence of cannabis. If an athletic commission allows marijuana, Robertson smokes until the day of the weigh-ins.

However, the Canadian doesn’t like to smoke on fight night. Marijuana sparked a massive debate after Nick Diaz’s win over Takanori Gomi was overturned because he tested positive for cannabis.

Gillian Robertson Reveals She Still Uses Marijuana During UFC Fight Camps “4…

Rafael Fiziev believes Magomed Zaynukov would make for an exciting matchup in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Zaynukov has gained substantial fame as Islam Makhachev’s teammate even before making his UFC debut. Makhachev recently suggested a future clash between Zaynukov and Fiziev, both being exciting strikers.

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Rafael Fiziev on potential fight against Islam Makhachev’s teammate: ‘It would be spectacular’ While Zaynukov is yet to make his UFC debut, Fiziev, a seasoned veteran, is not shutting down the idea of a potential matchup against “Wild Chanco.” The ranked lightweight remembers the Russian from their amateur days and acknowledges him as a good fighter.

Fiziev also recalls Zaynukov winning the muay thai world championship in Sweden. “I know him from my muay thai days; he is a very good fighter,” He told Red Corner MMA. “I even remember his amateur fights. We fought at the same world championships in Sweden. He’s really good; he became cham…