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Bryce Mitchell will make his second bantamweight appearance in June. | Getty/UFC

The UFC Fight Night 278 lineup appears to be nearly complete, and the card includes one of the promotion’s most controversial athletes.

The promotion confirmed 12 bouts for the June 6 event on Tuesday — including a newly-announced bantamweight showdown pitting Bryce Mitchell against Victor Henry. UFC Fight Night 278 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a welterweight clash between Belal Muhammad and Gabriel Bonfim. The card airs in its entirety on Paramount+.

Mitchell, who is notorious for his outspoken nature, made his 135-pound debut last July, when he outpointed Said Nurmagomedov at UFC on ABC 9. Prior to that, “Thug Nasty” went 8-3 in the featherweight division, falling only to Ilia Topuria, Josh Emmett and Jean Silva.

Henry, a well-traveled veteran with experience in promotions such as Pancrase and Rizin is 4-2 with one no contest during h…

Cory Sandhagen will try to improve to 2-0 against Mario Bautista at UFC 329 | Getty/UFC

Cory Sandhagen and Mario Bautista are going to run it back this summer.

The bantamweight contenders will square off in a rematch at UFC 329 on July 11 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Multiple outlets confirmed the booking following an initial report from from MagicM on social media. Sandhagen defeated Bautista via first-round submission in their initial meeting at UFC Fight Night 143 on Jan. 19, 2019.

Part 2, Higher Stakes Sandhagen is coming off a failed championship bid at UFC 320, where he dropped a five-round verdict to former title holder Merab Dvalishvili this past October. The 35-year-old “Sandman” has earned victories against the likes of Deiveson Figueiredo, Rob Font, Marlon Vera, Yadong Song, Frankie Edgar and Marlon Moraes during his promotional tenure.

Bautista is 11-2 in the Octagon since falling to Sandhagen in his UFC debut. After having an eight-bou…

Jiri Prochazka says he lost focus after Carlos Ulberg got injured at UFC 327. | Getty/UFC

Jiri Prochazka is standing by his claim that Carlos Ulberg’s injury caused him to let up in the UFC 327 headliner.

Prochazka and Ulberg squared off for the vacant light heavyweight belt on April 11 at the Kaseya Center in Miami. Ulberg appeared to be in a dire situation after injuring his knee early in the bout, but “Black Jag” was able to claim 205-pound gold with an improbable first-round knockout of Prochazka. In the aftermath of the defeat, Prochazka lamented showing mercy on his opponent when he realized Ulberg was injured. That stance has caused the Czech standout to receive some backlash in the MMA community.

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In a recent video post on Instagram, Prochazka only slightly altered his position, stating that the moment caused him to lose focus in the fight. As a result, “BJP” believes he was competing at roughly half of his capabilities against a …

Paulo Costa is ready to move up to heavyweight to fight Josh Hokit. 

Josh Hokit is currently scheduled to fight Derrick Lewis on June 14 at the White House. However, Costa claims he has informed the UFC that he is ready to fight Hokit at the White House if Lewis pulls out of the fight.

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I just let ufc knows if Derek Lewis gets out his fight for some reason I will step in at White House as heavyweight . No bullshit , ain’t lying.

— Paulo Costa (@BorrachinhaMMA) April 20, 2026

While Costa has only fought at middleweight and light heavyweight so far, “Borrachinha” believes he weigh in heavier than Hokit without having to cut any weight. Considering Lewis was booked for the White House at President Donald Trump’s behest, Costa suggests that “The Black Beast” be matched up with someone else.

Right now, I think practically all the fans would like to see how I, who was perhaps the biggest midd…

Jorge Masvidal pre-planned the most iconic moment of his fighting career. 

Masvidal’s (37-15) flying knee knockout of Ben Askren (19-2) in 2019 will always be one of the most unforgettable moments in UFC history. Masvidal’s American Top Team teammate, Dustin Poirier, recently revealed that “Gamebred” told him before the fight that he would start with a flying knee. American Top Team coach Mike Brown even showed Poirier videos of Masvidal drilling the flying knee. “The Diamond” shared the prediction with one of his friends, who was amazed when it came to fruition.

Calling His Shot “I met up with you and Brown the night before the fight,” Poirier said on Deep Waters. “And you were telling me, ‘Imma start this fight off with a flying knee.’ Mike is showing me videos of him doing that in the training room. He was hitting the pad, throwing the flying knee. I text one of my boys, I said, ‘Hey, he's gonna start this with a flying knee. Boom! Five minutes later my buddy is…

The UFC could be going to Spain despite political tensions. 

The UFC has been considering a card in Spain ever since Ilia Topuria gained stardom. However, the plan is yet to come to fruition due to technicalities. Topuria previously told Spanish media that the UFC was trying to find a roofed venue in Spain, while also figuring out the card's timing, as it would clash with U.S. viewers during the ESPN era. 

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However, the idea of UFC’s debut in Spain is seemingly not entirely out of the question. Topuria recently revealed that he plans to fight again at the end of the year after his upcoming fight against Justin Gaethje in June.

“My goal is to fight in June and fight again by the end of the year,” Topuria said on "The Ariel Helwani Show.”

Tight LippedHelwani then suggested that Topuria could fight at Madison Square Garden in New York, where the UFC usually hosts an annual card. However, “El Matador” briefly mentioned that he might fight …

Merab Dvalishvili doesn’t want any fun and games with Umar Nurmagomedov. 

Dvalishvili was scheduled to wrestle Henry Cejudo at RAF 8 last weekend. However, Cejudo was forced out due to an injury just hours before the bout. Dvalishvili was later asked if he would be interested in a wrestling match against former opponent Umar Nurmagomedov. However, Dvalishvili shut down the idea, citing the beef between them. 

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Dvalishvili explains that while his job is fighting in MMA, wrestling matches are fun to him. However, Dvalishvili doesn’t want to do anything for fun with Nurmagomedov as he feels disrespected by the Dagestani.No Fun Allowed “I don’t like this guy, because he disrespect me,” Dvalishvili told Adam Zubayraev. “My job is to fight. Whoever the UFC gives me, I will fight. UFC gives me [Umar], I will fight. Wrestling is for fun. I’ll never do fun matchup against this guy. Because it’s not fun for me, it’s real.” 

Dvalishvili’s (21-5)…

Arman Tsarukyan doesn’t want to drop down to featherweight unless it’s for a title shot. 

Tsarukyan (23-3) recently revealed that he is considering a return in June, with the opponent yet to be decided. Tsarukyan has been teasing a move to featherweight for a while now and doubled down on it. However, Tsarukyan will only consider dropping down a weight class to challenge Alexander Volkanovski for the title. 

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Tsarukyan’s podcast host suggested that “Ahalkalakets” could be booked against Movsar Evloev, where the winner would challenge Volkanovski. However, Tsarukyan clarified that he would prefer staying at lightweight unless offered a title shot at featherweight. Tsarukyan believes the lightweight division is more stacked, filled with more stars and opportunities to make more money.Weighing His Options “Roughly around June. They’re still deciding who I’ll fight,” Tsarukyan told IbraTV. “It’s even possible that I drop down to [featherweight] t…

Youssef Zalal is confident he will break one of Charles Olveira’s many records by the time he retires. 

Zalal is scheduled to fight Aljamain Sterling in a featherweight tilt in the main event at UFC Fight Night 274 on April 25 at the Apex in Las Vegas. Zalal revealed that he would prefer a submission win over a knockout win against Sterling. Zalal explains that he is close to Charles Oliveira’s record of the most submissions in UFC featherweight history. Zalal also wants to be the first person to submit Aljamain Sterling, whose only two stoppage losses have come via knockouts.

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“[Oliveira] still has the featherweight’s most submissions,” Zalal told MMAjunkie.com. “And I was like, ‘Damn, I see my name right there. Two more Youssef, you get tie.’ Nobody ever submitted Aljamain in his whole career… So, I think if I had to pick, I would pick that sub.” Closing In on History Oliveira holds the record for the most submissions in UFC featherweight…

Ilia Topuria continues to downplay Arman Tsarukyan as a potential opponent. 

Topuria (17-0) is scheduled to defend his lightweight title against interim champion Justin Gaethje (27-5) in the main event at UFC White House on June 14. Meanwhile, the widely considered rightful title contender Tsarukyan has been left out of the title mix. 

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However, Topuria has always shrugged off Tsarukyan as a potential threat. “El Matador” recently went off on Tsarukyan’s antics outside the Octagon. Tsarukyan is often seen flying in private jets and having expensive feasts. However, Topuria believes “Ahalkalakets” is projecting a lavish life off of his father’s money. Topuria believes Tsarukyan is yet to mature as a person.Childish Mentality “I’m really impressed with how dumb he is,” Topuria said on "The Ariel Helwani Show.” “He’s a retard. He looks like a kid. His mentality, he is dumb as f—k. Everything that I saw about him on the internet is embarrassing,…

Paulo Costa has backtracked on his hatred for Russians. 

Bogdan Guskov recently called out Costa over his comments about Russian fighters.

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“Paulo Costa has got a huge hype at the moment,” Guskov told Red Corner MMA. “He has just beat one of the boogeyman of our division. It would be certainly very cool for me to fight him. Even more so as he talked something about ‘Russian guys’. Here I am, a Russian fella who was raised in Uzbekistan, who’s ready to share the Octagon with him anytime. We will make him eat his own words.”Changing His Tune? Costa (16-4) handed Azamat Murzakanov his first professional loss at UFC 327 earlier this month. It was Costa’s second consecutive upset win over a Russian fighter. Costa clearly expressed his hatred for Russian fighters going into his bout against Murzakanov, while also calling out Khamzat Chimaev. However, Costa now claims that he specifically has an issue with “Chechen” fighters, not all Russias.

“Good cal…

Rose Namajunas is ready to get back to work.

The former strawweight queen had to undergo surgery after being poked in the eye multiple times during a loss to Natalia Silva at UFC 324 on Jan. 24. As a result of the fouls, Namajunas had to have a silicone tube inserted in her eye for approximately three months.

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A Modest Proposal In a post on Instagram, Namajunas revealed that she has been cleared to train while proposing that eye pokes lead to an “instant purse deduction in the future.”

“So you wanna be a fighter? Three months and now I’m healthy finally,” Namajunas wrote. “Thumb and eye are all fixed up. Im a bit out of shape but I’m cleared to train now. I really hope eye pokes will be taken more seriously in the future. I propose instant purse deduction even for an accident. An accident that could seriously affect a fighter’s health long term. Anyways I’m just grateful that it was not more serious.”

A two-time 115-pound champion, Namajunas is…

Cody Durden will attempt to snap a four-bout skid on short notice. | Getty/UFC

This weekend’s UFC Vegas 116 card has undergone a couple late changes, the promotion announced Monday.

Lucas Rocha has withdrawn from a proposed flyweight booking against Jafel Filho due to an undisclosed injury. As a result, Cody Durden will step in on less than a week’s notice to face Filho. Additionally, a lightweight pairing pitting Francis Marshall against Lucas Brennan has been added to the UFC Vegas 116 bill.

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UFC Vegas 116 — also known as UFC Fight Night 274 — takes place on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a featherweight clash between Aljamain Sterling and Youssef Zalal. The event airs in its entirety on Paramount+ beginning at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT.

Durden will take a four-bout losing streak into his short-notice assignment. Most recently, the 35-year-old Georgian dropped a unanimous decision to Nyamjargal Tumendemberel at U…

Barring some special circumstances, Ronda Rousey’s return to mixed martial arts is likely a one-and-done scenario.

Rousey will compete for the first time since December 2016 when she faces Gina Carano in the main event of a Most Valuable Promotions card streamed via Netflix on May 16 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. While the former UFC bantamweight queen has appeared to be fully invested in her comeback, both in terms of training and in promotional efforts, she has no designs on sticking around for too long.

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“I’m done fighting after this,” Rousey recently told "The Breakfast Club” (via MMAFighting.com). “Unless something goes down in this match that it deserves a trilogy from me and Gina. But I promised my husband, I promised my sister, everybody that this is my last one. I want to have more kids, too.”Money Not an IssueRousey currently has two kids with her husband, former UFC heavyweight Travis Browne. The desire to focus on family surpasses a…

Jason Jackson will face a "TUF 33" vet on May 16. | PFL MMA

Jason Jackson will remain on Most Valuable Promotions’ first MMA card.

After Lorenz Larkin withdrew from the event due to injury, Jefferson Creighton will step in and face Jackson at MVP "Rousey vs. Carano" on May 16 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. The promotion announced the new booking on Monday.

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MVP “Rousey vs. Carano” airs on Netflix and is headlined by a five-round featherweight showdown between Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano. Other featured contests include a heavyweight matchup pitting Francis Ngannou against Philipe Lins and a welterweight scrap between Nate Diaz and Mike Perry.Plenty of Momentum Creighton will take a seven-bout winning streak into the matchup with Jackson. Most recently, the Poway, California, native defeated Diego Bianchini via unanimous decision at LFA 223 this past November. During his current run, Creighton has also won titles in Melee Combat Ch…

Ciryl Gane has called upon the help of a man who once defeated Alex Pereira under the Glory Kickboxing banner.

Gane, who will face “Poatan” for the interim heavyweight crown at UFC White House on June 14, has been training with Artem Vakhitov ahead of that fight. Vakhitov defeated Pereira via majority decision at Glory 78 in September 2021.

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Vakhitov, who owns a 3-1 MMA record, posted video of some sparring with Gane via Instagram on Monday. Vakhitov earned a contract on Dana White's Contender Series in 2024 but was unable to come to terms with the Las Vegas-based promotion.Gane, Vakhitov Go Head-to-Head

Gane, a former interim heavyweight champion, has twice come up short in bids for undisputed heavyweight gold, dropping a unanimous verdict to Francis Ngannou at UFC 270 and suffering a first-round submission loss to Jon Jones at UFC 285. More recently, a title clash against Tom Aspinall at UFC 321 ended in a no contest after Gane poked his op…

Sean Strickland’s longtime coach, Eric Nicksick, recently reflected on their brief falling out last year. 

Strickland looked to reclaim his middleweight title in a rematch against Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 312 in February 2025. Strickland dropped a lopsided unanimous decision against the champion. Nicksick seemingly just failed to get his fighter going despite his best efforts.  The Xtreme Couture coach subsequently lashed out at Strickland publicly, calling the performance “underwhelming.” Strickland responded, saying Nicksick would most likely not remain his coach any longer. However, they buried the hatchet soon after, and Strickland still continues to train under the tutelage of Nicksick at Xtreme Couture. 

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Reflecting on the brief spat, Nicksick recently admitted that he deserves criticism. Nicksick revealed that he was also dealing with a lot in his personal life, which, added to Strickland’s performance, made him lash out at the f…

Paddy Pimblett has learned a lot from his loss against Justin Gaethje. 

Pimblett took on Gaethje for the interim lightweight title at UFC 324 this past January. While Gaethje put a beating on Pimblett, “The Baddy” showed grit and heart in refusing to go down. Gaethje eventually earned a unanimous decision win, handing Pimblett his first UFC loss. Pimblett believes he learned more from the loss against Gaethje than he did from his unbeaten seven-fight run in the UFC. Pimblett is now returning for revenge and hopes to get a future rematch against Gaethje. While Pimblett respects Gaethje, he also recalls “The Highlight” poking him in the eye.

Destiny Awaits “I’m coming back for revenge... Everyone loses, and that’s how you learn, that’s how you get better,” Pimblett told iFL TV. “I probably learned more from losing that fight than winning seven other UFC fights. But I will be back better and stronger. It’s in me destiny that I’m gonna be world champion of the worl…

Demetrious Johnson believes the UFC 328 headliner will be a one-sided affair. 

Khamzat Chimaev puts his middleweight title on the line for the first time against Sean Strickland in the main event at UFC 328 on May 9 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. While Chimaev is a massive favorite going into the fight, many believe Strickland’s wrestling defense might be the ultimate answer to “Borz.” 

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However, Johnson believes Chimaev will prove the oddsmakers right with a dominant performance. Currently helping Chimaev in camp, Johnson is impressed with the middleweight champion’s discipline and work ethic. “Might Mouse” predicts that Chimaev will finish Strickland in the fourth round.'Absolute Domination' “I think it’s gonna be absolute domination,” Johnson said on the "Jaxxon Podcast.” “Khamzat’s got a great team around him. He’s doing the drilling, he’s doing the sparring, he’s not skipping anything. He’s making sure he leaves no stone…

Khamzat Chimaev is confident in his wrestling skills. | Getty/UFC

Khamzat Chimaev has put a bounty on himself. Chimaev recently signed with Real American Freestyle, which has been making waves in wrestling. Meanwhile, 2016 Rio Olympics gold medalist Kyle Snyder defended his RAF light heavyweight title against Rizabek Aitmukhan at RAF 8 on Saturday. Snyder subsequently expressed interest in a wrestling bout against Chimaev at RAF. 

Chimaev (15-0) has since seemingly taken a dig at Snyder’s callout. “Borz” is scheduled to defend his UFC middleweight title against Sean Strickland (30-7) at UFC 328 on May 9 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Chimaev says that while “poor” wrestlers are calling him out, he is facing difficulty finding sparring partners for his fight camp against Strickland. Apparently responding to Snyder, the undefeated Chechen-born has offered $200,000 to any Olympic champion who can survive against him in sparring.

Call for…

Vicente Luque believes he has the skills to compensate for his size disadvantage at middleweight. 

Luque made his middleweight debut against Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 327 earlier this month. “The Silent Assassin” forced Gastelum to tap with an anaconda choke in the opening round. While Luque fought at welterweight for most of his career, he plans to stick around at middleweight going forward. 

Luque (24-12) admits that he is unlikely to be among the strongest guys at 185 pounds. However, Luque believes he has the technique to compensate for the difference in strength with other middleweights. Luque has also had the experience of training with elite middleweights at Kill Cliff FC like Reinier de Ridder, Gregory Rodrigues, and Impa Kasanganay. Having trained with middleweights while being a welterweight, Luque doesn’t think he will have issues sticking around at 185 pounds now.

Compensating with Skill and Technique “I think that I have enough skill and techniq…

Johnny Walker’s coach, Eric Nicksick, isn’t one to shy away from accountability. 

Walker took on fellow veteran Dominick Reyes at UFC 327 earlier this month. Contrary to expectations, the bout was largely marked with inactivity, leading to boos at the Kaseya Center in Miami. Reyes eventually earned a lackluster split-decision win over Walker, with very little to score in the whole fight. 

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Nicksick takes responsibility for Walker’s underwhelming performance. Nicksick believes the onus falls on him to communicate his expectations to his fighter.

“Johnny did a great job,” the Xtreme Couture coach told MMAjunkie.com. “We had great preparation. And if there is disconnect between what I wanted for the game plan and his execution, that falls on me as the coach. I’ve got to get him in a position to be firing on all cylinders, seeing the reads that I’m seeing, the expectations that I want from him. And at the end of the day, that falls on us as st…

Paddy Pimblett won’t go against UFC CEO Dana White. 

While Dana White is an MMA promoter and Eddie Hearn is a boxing promoter, they have been longtime rivals. The rivalry has recently intensified with White’s entry into pugilism with Zuffa Boxing. Hearn has since been going back and forth with White about a potential fight. 

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With White repeatedly underplaying the idea, Pimblett doesn’t think that fight will ever materialize. However, if it does, Pimblett is backing his boss White to starch Hearn, even though he admits that the Matchroom Boxing chairman has a reach advantage. Pimblett further notes that White and Hearn stand to earn more than the fighters promoted by them if they ever fight. However, “The Baddy” sees the entire saga as a “teenage girlish” spat which both parties will eventually get over.A Lucrative Matchup “It’s not gonna happen,” Pimblett told iFL TV. “Dana’s not gonna box Eddie. It’s a bit of a mad situation. Eddie’s got t…

Gable Steveson is 3-0 in MMA bouts. | Mexico Fight League

Gable Steveson’s first UFC appearance is shaping up to be one of the most highly anticipated debuts in recent memory.

It was recently announced that the Olympic gold medalist and two-time NCAA national champion will make his first Octagon foray at UFC 329 on July 11 in Las Vegas. Steveson’s first UFC opponent — which has yet to be announced — remains a hot topic of discussion as thet fight approaches.

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According to UFC CEO Dana White, the promotion will make sure to find an appropriate opponent for the highly-touted prospect.A Different Level "CM Punk fought here – we'll find somebody," White said on Saturday at the UFC Winnipeg post-fight press conference. "I don't know if we go after a top 15 guy. I say this to you guys all the time: The UFC jitters are real. I don't care how you've competed or where or what you've done. When you come here, it's a different level.

"Our m…