Blog

Trevor Peek wants to show the world that “scousers” get knocked out by squaring off with surging UFC star Paddy Pimblett.

Advertisement

Unbeaten since 2018 — including five wins under the UFC banner — Pimblett has quickly emerged as one of the promotion’s most recognizable talents. Peek knows that Pimblett’s career trajectory certainly looks promising at the moment.

“I think Paddy is on a good career path. I think [the UFC] is going to take care of him and going to match him smartly,” Peek said on his YouTube channel. “I think they are going to let him develop his skills. Is he capable of beating a Top 15? Probably, man. Anyone can beat anyone in this game; it only takes one. Skill-wise, I don’t know if he’s up to par with all them guys, but I think he’s probably better than one or two of those guys in the Top 15 truly.”

Pimblett’s momentum is exactly what makes him a lucrative potential opponent for Peek, who believes he can beat the Liverpudlian. After …

Ex-lightweight champion Charles Oliveira will square off against Arman Tsarukyan in a title eliminator bout at UFC 300.

Advertisement

UFC CEO Dana White announced the booking on Sunday night. The winner of the 155-pound contest will be next in line to face Islam Makhachev, who White revealed is recovering from an injury. UFC 300 takes place on April 13 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and also includes a light heavyweight showdown pitting Jiri Prochazka against Aleksandar Rakic and a featherweight scrap between Aljamain Sterling and Calvin Kattar.

Oliveira is coming off a first-round technical knockout victory over Beneil Dariush at UFC 289 this past June. That triumph earned “Do Bronx” a title shot against Islam Makhachev at UFC 294, but the Brazilian suffered a cut in training that forced him to withdraw from the October bout. Oliveira has won 12 of his last 13 promotional outings, with his lone defeat during that stretch coming via second-round submission …

Dustin Poirier will lock horns with Benoit St. Denis in a five-round co-headliner at UFC 299.

UFC CEO Dana White announced the lightweight pairing late Sunday evening. UFC 299 takes place on March 9 at the Kaseya Center in Miami and will see Sean O'Malley defend his bantamweight crown against Marlon Vera in the evening’s main event.

A two-time lightweight title challenger, Poirier has lost two of his last three Octagon appearances. In his lone bout of 2023, “The Diamond” suffered a second-round knockout loss in a rematch against Justin Gaethje at UFC 291 on July 29. The 34-year-old Poirier has bested the likes of Michael Chandler, Conor McGregor (twice), Dan Hooker, Max Holloway, Eddie Alvarez, Gaethje, Anthony Pettis and Jim Miller during his tenure with the Las Vegas-based promotion.

After suffering a lopsided loss against Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos in a short-notice promotional debut at 170 pounds, St. Denis has reeled off five consecutive triumphs unde…

[embedded content]

UFC commentator Laura Sanko would rather see fighters scuffle than get personal with their trash talk.

Advertisement

Sean Strickland is scheduled to defend his middleweight title against Dricus Du Plessis in the main-event at UFC 297 on Jan. 20 in Toronto. Things turned ugly between the two during a seasonal 2024 press conference where “Stillknocks” brought up the champ’s abusive childhood.

Strickland latter admitted that he was definitely triggered by the comments, which led to him attacking the South African while attending UFC 296 the next day. Strickland was seen leaping over chairs and throwing punches Du Plessis before being separated by police and escorted out of the T-Mobile Arena. Sanko admittedly prefers the physical scuffle between the two at UFC 296, as it saves ugly trash talk potentially involving the fighters’ families.

“I realize what game we’re in. I actually prefer guys have physical fights than do this s—t, if I’m bein…

Belal Muhammad is planning to train with Khabib Nurmagomedov and his team for a potential upcoming title fight against Leon Edwards.

Advertisement

Muhammad has grown close with Nurmagomedov’s contingent since the former lightweight king’s active days, as they had the same manager in Ali Abdelaziz. Muhammad is now planning to travel to Dagestan to prepare for Edwards.

“I’m planning for sure to go to Dagestan and train with those guys, like you said, to get a new look, to get different feels,” Muhammad told MMAjunkie.com. “Those guys don’t let you take any days off or any easy rounds. That’s always perfect for me. Last time I trained with those guys, we got a dominant finish and I plan to do the same thing.”

The late Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov is credited with setting up a training system that has produced numerous world class fighters from the region over the years with his son and current UFC lightweight champ Islam Makhachev leading the way. While he is alw…

Yadong Song found Sean Strickland’s recent comments about China to be “baseless.”

Advertisement

Strickland is notorious for his unhinged takes on a wide range of topics, so it did not come as surprise to most fight fans when Strickland randomly suggested that China’s biggest exports are plastic and COVID-19.

China's biggest exports..... Plastic and Covid....

— Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA) January 5, 2024 Song seemingly took offense at Strickland’s comments about his country, which according to him are “baseless stereotypes.”

“Hey champ, I respect your skills as a fighter, but we should be talking facts, not baseless stereotypes,” Song wrote on X. “As athletes, we ought to focus on what we know best and avoid making unfounded comments. Let’s set a good example, alright?”

Hey champ, I respect your skills as a fighter, but we should be talking facts, not baseless stereotypes. As athletes, we ought to focus…

Themba Gorimbo gave Kiefer Crosbie a piece of his mind after the latter was forced out of their upcoming bout due to an injury.

Advertisement

Gorimbo was scheduled to take on the Irish welterweight contender on Feb. 3 at UFC Fight Night 235 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. After an initial report from MMA Mania, Gorimbo confirmed that “BDK” is out of the bout with an injury. While Gorimbo has already found a short-notice replacement opponent in Pete Rodriguez, “The Answer” did not move on without taking a dig a Crosbie.

However, Gorimbo’s dig at Crosbie wasn’t completely unprovoked as the Irishman had touched upon a relatively sensitive topic while trash talking. After Gorimbo revealed that he had $6 left in his bank account after his first UFC victory last year, WWE and Hollywood superstar Dwayne Johnson empathized so deeply with his story that he bought the South African a new house.

“It's official, 10 weeks time I make my real debut with the [UFC}. Full cam…

When Conor McGregor revealed that his long-awaited bout against Michael Chandler would be contested at middleweight, it raised eyebrows throught the mixed martial arts community.

Advertisement

After all, neither McGregor nor Chandler has competed at 185 pounds during their respective careers. Chandler has a theory on why the Irish superstar chose that weight class.

"In his mind, he can't fight at 170 [pounds], because I called him out at 170," Chandler told ESPN. "He had to say 185. ... He always wants to establish dominance, to make people think that I am less than him, and that's fine. I'll take that all day long, because I'm confident in myself, and I don't have an ego.

"I have no problem with what people say. I have no problem with people's opinions. Everybody's got an opinion, and who cares? ... I'll take that 'back seat' to him the entire time, and if he thinks he's taking a fight against a lesser man, then so be it. He'll find out on June 29.”

Read more about Michael Chandler: McGregor Announced Fight at 185 Pounds to ‘Establish Dominance’

Perhaps Stipe Miocic won’t be riding off into the sunset following his heavyweight title fight against Jon Jones after all.

Advertisement

The ex-UFC champion responded to a series of posts from current interim king Tom Aspinall on social media by suggesting that he’d be willing to face the Englishman in a title unification bout down the road. That, of course, would only become a viable option should Miocic defeat Jones when they square off at some point in 2024. The date for the bout is currently unknown, as Jones is still recovering from a torn pectoral that forced him to withdraw from the UFC 295 main event against Miocic.

“I have never caused a delay in the Jon fight,” Miocic wrote in response to Aspinall. “Tom, once I get this win, let’s talk to unify the belt.”

I have never caused a delay in the Jon fight.⁰⁰Tom, once I get this win, let’s talk to unify the belt.

— Stipe Miocic (@stipemiocic) January 5, 2024

In recent week…

Raul Rosas Jr., the Ultimate Fighting Championship's youngest competitor, is set to return to the Octagon against Ricky Turcios at UFC Mexico City.

Rosas announced the matchup in an interview with the promotion’s Spanish social media account. UFC Fight Night 237 takes place on Feb. 24 at Mexico City Arena and is headlined by a flyweight clash between former champion Brandon Moreno and Amir Albazi. The co-main event will feature a rematch between former interim champion Yair Rodriguez and two-time title contender Brian Ortega.

Rosas Jr.is coming off a 54-second Round 1 technical knockout victory against Terrence Mitchell at UFC Fight Night 227 this past September. Prior to that, Rosas Jr. sustained the first loss of his professional mixed martial arts career against Christian Rodriguez at UFC 287 via unanimous decision.

After winning Season 29 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Turcios has gone 1-1 in the Las Vegas-based promotion. The 30-year-old will enter the …

A heavyweight matchup has been added to the UFC Fight Night card set to take place on April 6.

Undefeated Valter Walker is set to make his UFC debut against Poland's Lukasz Brzeski. Both fighters recently confirmed the booking on social media. UFC Fight Night takes place at the UFC Apex and is headlined by a middleeight bout between Brendan Allen and Marvin Vettori.

Currently on an 11-fight win streak, Walker will enter the Octagon coming off a Round 4 technical knockout victory against Alex Nicholson at Titan FC 82 to claim the promotion’s heavyweight championship. Walker was initially slated to make his Octagon debut against Jake Collier on a UFC Fight Night card back in September 2023. However, the GOR MMA product was forced to withdraw from the bout due to undisclosed reasons.

Meanwhile, Brzeski is currently on a four-fight winless streak and will be looking to notch his first UFC victory against Walker. In his most recent outing, the Polish national…

Francis Ngannou is gearing up for his second boxing showdown four months after his professional debut against Tyson Fury. This time, “The Predator” will go up against former unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua on March 9 in Saudi Arabia.

Advertisement

The news was first reported by Ariel Helwani on Friday and later confirmed by Turki Al-Sheikh, the Chairman of the General Authority for Entertainment in Saudi Arabia. Promoter Eddie Hearn subsequently announced that a press conference for the 10-round boxing bout has also been scheduled to take place in London on Jan. 15.

Joshua opened -500 favorite according to SportsBetting.ag. Meanwhile, Ngannou serves as a +325 underdog. This means one would have to bet $100 on Joshua to collect a profit of $20. On the other hand, betting $100 on Ngannou could potentially bring in a profit of $325. Those odds are subject to change as the fight draws near.

Ngannou made his boxing debut on Oct. 28 in Riyadh, Saudi…

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champ Chris Weidman is not ready to call it quits just yet.

Weidman (15-7) will be returning to action on March 30 at the unnumbered UFC on ESPN event in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The former kingpin of 185 pounds will battle it out against Bruno Silva (23-10) at middleweight inside of the Boardwalk Hall. News of this pairing first came from Brazilian journalist Laerte Viana, and Sherdog has confirmed from sources close to the situation that the fight is currently in the works. Both men have verbally agreed to the bout, and they are awaiting contracts from the promotion.

This will be Weidman’s second appearance in the Octagon since a gruesome leg injury suffered against Uriah Hall in April 2021. “The All-American” took over two years off to recoup from his broken leg, and he returned at UFC 292 to face perennial contender Brad Tavares. Weidman, 39, lost a decision and endured a whopping 41 leg kicks from his foe to rea…

Those that say former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou “fumbled the bag” could not be more wrong.

According to Ariel Helwani on Friday, Ngannou (0-1 Box) will take on Anthony Joshua (27-3, 24 KOs) at a currently undisclosed date in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This news has been confirmed by Turki Al-Sheikh, the Chairman of General Authority for Entertainment in Saudi Arabia. The two heavyweights will battle it out over the course of 10 professional rounds, and no belts will be on the line. Per MMA Junkie, the match will reportedly be held on March 9.

This will be Ngannou’s second trip to the boxing ring, with his first a razor-close split decision loss to Tyson Fury in October 2023. “The Predator” made shockwaves in the boxing—and MMA—community by knocking Fury down in Round 3, but two of three judges awarded the bout in favor of Fury. Ngannou famously departed the UFC at the beginning of 2023, where he was signed by Professional Fighters Lea…

My opponent for my ONE debut at January 28th Rotang has been canceled and changed to Superlek and I’m going to fight for the one championship world title.I have been preparing to fight Rotang for a long time and sacrificed many things for this fight so I was shocked and… pic.twitter.com/SvpjyQk8c5

— 武尊 takeru (@takerusegawa) January 5, 2024 Switching top-tier opponents is no problem for a star like Takeru Segawa.

According to the Japanese kickboxer on Friday morning, his One Championship kickboxing matchup against Rodtang Jitmuangnon is no longer in the cards. Atop ONE 165 on Jan. 28 at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Takeru (42-3) will instead throw down with Superlek Kiatmoo9 (136-29-4). This match will put Superlek’s ONE flyweight (135 pounds) kickboxing belt on the line.

Superlek was gearing up to defend his throne against Elias Mahmoudi at ONE Fight Night 18, however, Mahmoudi was also forced out of their meeting due to an injury. In h…

[embedded content]

Anthony Smith believes he needs to alter his approach following a recent loss to Khalil Rountree at UFC Fight Night 233 in December.

Advertisement

Smith (37-19) stepped up on 10 days’ notice to face Rountree (13-5) in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 233 after Azamat Murzakanov was forced out of his original meeting with the Tiger Muay Thai representative on Dec. 2 due to pneumonia.

On a four-fight win streak, Rountree managed to land with more authority in the first two rounds, even hurting Smith during an exchange in Round 2. Ultimately, “The War Horse” landed a crisp uppercut followed by a left hook in the opening minute of the third round that sent “Lionheart” crashing to the canvas. Smith is now 1-3 in his last four Octagon outings.

Having had the time to reflect on the loss over the holidays, “Lionheart” admitted that taking a short-notice fight against a ferocious adversary such as Rountree was perhaps not the best idea. Mor…

[embedded content] At least three of One Championship’s title fights in Qatar will be under MMA rules.

Per the organization on Tuesday, Kai Tang (17-2) and Thanh Le (14-3) will run it back for the unified ONE featherweight (155 pounds) throne. The two will square off on March 1 at the Lusail Sports Arena in Lusail, Qatar, as part of the promotion’s first card in the Middle Eastern nation. It will join a pair of championship rematches of Reinier de Ridder vs. Anatoliy Malykhin—this time at 205 pounds—and Jarred Brooks vs. Joshua Pacio at 125 pounds.

Tang has not competed since claiming a victory over Le in August 2022, where he outworked the Louisiana native across five rounds. In the process, Tang pushed Le to the final bell for the first time in the latter’s career. The fighter from China has not tasted defeat since 2017, running a span of 10 victories including seven under the ONE banner. Tang sports a knockout rate of 76% as a pro, while never winning—or losing—a ma…

Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight Jailton Almeida is prepared to deliver a feel-good moment in the sport at the end of January.

Almeida is set to return to action on March 9 in Miami against Curtis Blaydes, during the main card of UFC 299. Before then, “Malhadinho” will enter into exhibition, charity match against Alvaro Borges, a fighter with Down syndrome, on Jan. 27. He and Borges will compete at the Bahia Boxing and Martial Arts Training Center—also called the Centro de Treinamento de Boxe e Artes Marciais da Bahia—in Salvador, Brazil. This matchup, along with the other fights on the Demo Fight 18 billing, were announced by the league on Instagram.

Advertisement

“We know that sport is one of the biggest weapons of social inclusion we have,” the promotion wrote [via Google Translate]. “Thinking about it, we decided to present an exhibition fight with the 2023 MMA revelation athlete Jailton 'Malhadinho' [UFC] and athlete Alvaro Borges with Down Syndr…

[embedded content]

Josh Emmett is hoping to make his way to a title shot by taking on former Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight king Max Holloway next.

Advertisement

A long-time Top 10 featherweight, Emmett (19-4) was on the way to championship contention with a five-fight win streak back in 2022. However, he had his momentum halted courtesy of Yair Rodriguez in an interim title fight at UFC 284, followed by a decision loss against Ilia Topuria, who is set to challenge Alexander Volkanovski for the crown at UFC 298 on Feb. 17.

The Phoenix native returned to the win column at UFC 296 last month against Bryce Mitchell, who replaced an injured Giga Chikadze on short notice. Emmett put “Thug Nasty” to sleep with an overhand right in the opening frame. The scene captured Sherdog’s 2023 “Knockout of the Year” honors.

“I don’t care who was in front of me, I was going in there to put someone away and get my hand raised and end 2023 on a high note,” th…

Crazy turn of events at #KSWColosseum2 earlier. Krzysztof Glowacki, who has fought Oleksandr Usyk in boxing, made his MMA debut and knocked his opponent out from the bottom of full mount! 🤯pic.twitter.com/qASt2YJV25

— Sherdog (@sherdogdotcom) June 3, 2023

Former World Boxing Organization cruiserweight champ Krzysztof Glowacki, who recently made a sensational mixed martial arts debut for Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki, has been banned for four years.

Advertisement

The ban was handed out by UK Anti-Doping, which oversees anti-doping in the United Kingdom and is compliant with World Anti-Doping Agency protocols. Glowacki (32-4 in boxing) was banned after his urine sample reportedly tested positive for Boldenone, an anabolic androgenic steroid.

Glowacki’s alleged failed test dates back to January 2023, following his fourth-round Technical Knockout loss to Richard Riakporhe in Manchester, England. The Polish standout was initially handed a …

[embedded content] One prominent mixed martial arts coach has lofty ambitions for his team this coming year.

One month after cornering Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight king Alexandre Pantoja through his first title defense against Brandon Royval, American Top Team coach “Parrumpa,” born Marcos da Matta, will be back in business preparing another one of his fighters for a belt. He will back Mayra Bueno Silva at UFC 297 at the end of January, in her vacant bantamweight championship collision against Raquel Pennington. Da Matta spoke to Sherdog on Wednesday, discussing his team’s tough upcoming agenda, their victories in 2023, the UFC’s new anti-doping system and what he perceives to be a little disrespect.

Advertisement

“To tell you the truth, I didn’t have Christmas or New Years,” Da Matta admitted. “Besides, half of my athletes are Muslims, who don’t celebrate those dates, I have [Movsar] Evloev and ‘Sheetara’ [Bueno Silva] fighting in UFC 297 [on] Jan. 20…

[embedded content]

Bryce Mitchell has decided to take a short hiatus following his brutal knockout loss to Josh Emmett last month.

Advertisement

Mitchell (16-2) stepped in on short notice, replacing an injured Giga Chikadze against Emmett (19-4) at UFC 296. Emmett, known as one of the hardest punchers in the entire sport, knocked out Mitchell with an overhand right in the very first frame. As such, “Thug Nasty” has decided to go on his own “concussion protocol” as a result, which will consist of a six-month rest.

“I’m on my own concussion protocol. I’ll consult with my coaches, too, and we’re basically just saying, ‘You know, don’t spar for six months.’ I’ve got to [build a new house] and [expecting my first child], but then I’m right into my next training camp after that. The good thing is that I don’t have to rush into it,” the 29-year-old told ESPN.

Sherdog’s 2023 “Knockout of the Year” was also the first KO of Mitchell’s career. The featherweight was …

A middleweight showdown pitting Brendan Allen against Marvin Vettori will serve as the headliner for an Ultimate Fighting Championship card on April 6.

Advertisement

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the booking on Wednesday. A location and venue for the event were not confirmed.

Allen has been victorious in his last six Octagon appearances dating back to February 2022, with five of those triumphs coming by way of submission. Most recently, the Dana White's Contender Series alum tapped out Paul Craig with a rear-naked choke 38 seconds into Round 3 of the UFC Fight Night 232 main event on Nov. 18. Allen is 11-2 over the course of his UFC tenure.

A former middleweight title challenger, Vettori went 1-1 in UFC competition in 2023. After outpointing Roman Dolidze at UFC 286 in March, “The Italian Dream” dropped a five-round verdict to Jared Cannonier in the UFC on ESPN 47 headliner this past June. Vettori owns other notable wins against the likes of Pa…

Khamzat Chimaev posted and then deleted a picture of himself saying he was very sick pic.twitter.com/RDQnhmnOce

— MMA Mania (@mmamania) January 3, 2024

There appears to be good reason why Khamzat Chimaev was left out of the middleweight title picture at the beginning of the year.

Advertisement

In addition to suffering a torn ligament in his hand in his hand during a victory over Kamaru Usman at UFC 294, Chimaev revealed that he was recently “very sick” in a since-deleted post on social media.

“I was very sick, my hand was injured, so I couldn’t return right away,” Chimaev wrote in the translated post, which was accompanied by several concerning images. “I want to tell all the fountains, I want to see myself in battle more than all of you. I love this job. I will do and prove that I am the best, as always we do, and I will be back soon to Insha’Allal training.”

While Chimaev appeared to be a leading candidate to face reigning m…