Dan Hardy is confident many of the PFL’s top stars would succeed in the UFC. The PFL analyst specifically referred to Bellator lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov’s (19-0) successful title defense against Paul Hughes (13-2) in the main event of PFL Road to Dubai Champions Series in January, which turned out to be one of the more
Jon Anik thinks Yair Rodriguez isn’t talked about enough ahead of UFC 314. Rodriguez (15-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC) welcomes two-division Bellator champion Patricio Freire (36-7 MMA, 0-0 UFC) to the octagon in the main card opener of the April 12 event at Kaseya Center in Miami (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN/Disney+, ESPN+). Anik is excited for Freire to
MMA retirements often times don’t last. However, Demetrious Johnson is certain his is definite. The majority of retirements in combat sports, and particularly MMA, after seemingly taken with a grain of salt. The fame, potential for financial upside, glory and competition have frequently led to athletes picking the gloves back up after putting them down.
Reinier de Ridder welcomes Bo Nickal’s wrestling at UFC on ESPN 67. De Ridder (19-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) meets Nickal (7-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) in a three-round middleweight bout May 3 at UFC on ESPN 67 from Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. After submitting Kevin Holland at UFC 311 in January, the former
In a lot of ways, look: Josh Thomson is just gettin’ to that stage of life. Thomson turned 46 this past fall. There’s a stereotype that exists of the generation ahead complaining about the generation behind. And conversely, the younger generation is pigeon-holed as having it all figured out compared to the geezers before them.
Youssef Zalal went from being cut by the UFC to a ranked featherweight contender. Zalal (17-5-1 MMA, 7-3-1 UFC) kicked off his first UFC tenure 3-0. However, he went on to lose three straight – including a decision to Ilia Topuria, followed by a majority draw that led to his UFC release. During his time
With four straight wins, Jasmine Jasudavicius has put herself firmly into a small circle of UFC contenders at flyweight. The 36-year-old Canadian is coming off what might be her biggest win yet, and even though contenders Manon Fiorot and Erin Blanchfield are presumably the next two in line for champion Valentina Shevchenko, stranger things have
Paul Hughes doesn’t expect to reconcile with Conor McGregor anytime soon. Like many Irish fighters, Hughes looked up to the former UFC two-division champion. Up until his title fight against Bellator lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov at PFL Champions Series: Road to Dubai last month, Hughes had McGregor’s support. Hughes lost a close decision to Nurmagomedov,
Jasmine Jasudavicius would love to think about a UFC title shot, but in lieu of that knows she has some wide-ranging options on the table. Jasudavicius has four straight wins, including three straight at flyweight since she returned there after a one-off bantamweight bonus-winning submission. And her most recent resume listing was a win over
UFC 312 goes down Saturday night with two championship fights atop the bill, and MMA Junkie Radio’s “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” will host a live-streamed watch-along for the main card right here at 10 p.m. ET. The main event features a rematch between middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis (22-2 MMA, 8-0 UFC) and Sean Strickland (29-6
Khaos Williams wants to send a message to the MMA world, and he plans on doing so against gifted striker Gabriel Bonfim. The two welterweights collide on the preliminary card of UFC Fight Night 251, which is set to go down on Feb. 15 in Las Vegas. It’s a fight many have circled as a
UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad knows what it’s like to go through a training camp during Ramadan. Muhammad (24-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) most recently trained through Ramadan for a fight when he took on Gilbert Burns at UFC 288 in May 2023. He won the five-round fight by unanimous decision to become No. 1 contender.
