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Things are heating up between Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje ahead of their upcoming fight.

Topuria (17-0) will look to defend his lightweight title against interim champ Gaethje (27-5) in the main event of UFC White House: Freedom 250 on Sunday, June 14. While both Topuria and Gaethje were initially respectful toward each other, they have now started a serious war of words.

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Topuria recently got divorced from his ex-wife, Giorgina Uzcategui Badell. Gaethje said he understands why Topuria’s wife divorced him, as even he wouldn’t want to be roommates with “El Matador.” Topuria did not take kindly to Gaethje’s personal dig at him. Topuria responded:

“Justin crossed a line. What happened between my ex-wife and me is our business. We may no longer be together, but she is the mother of my daughter. To everyone insulting her or speaking about things they know nothing about: show some respect. You don’t have to respect our relationship. But respecting so…

Pereira and Vakhitov went 1-1 in a pair of 2021 title fights (Photo: Glory Kickboxing)

Ciryl Gane is training with the last man to defeat Alex Pereira in kickboxing, but Pereira claims to be unfazed.

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Gane (13-2), who faces Pereira (13-3) for the interim heavyweight title in the co-main event of UFC Freedom 250 on Sunday in Washington, D.C., has enlisted Artem Vakhitov in his camp to help prepare for the fight against Pereira. Vakhitov is a former two-time Glory Kickboxing light heavyweight champion with a 3-1 MMA record including a victorious appearance on Dana White's Contender Series in 2024.

Significantly, the 35-year-old Russian defeated Pereira by majority decision at Glory 78 in September of 2021, winning back the Glory light heavyweight belt and marking Pereira’s last loss in kickboxing before making his final transition to MMA. The narrow decision brought the pair even after their similarly competitive first bout eight month…

The lightweight title fight headlining UFC Freedom 250 definitely has the attention of one man who recently held that belt.

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UFC welterweight champ Islam Makhachev, who relinquished the lightweight title last year in his quest for a second title, recently weighed in on the upcoming clash between his successor, Ilia Topuria, and interim champ Justin Gaethje.

In an interview shared Monday by the UFC’s official social media channels, Makhachev predicted that White House card will be a treat for fans. Gaethje (27-5) will enter the cage as a prohibitive underdog to the undefeated Topuria (17-0) in Sunday’s main event, but Makhachev does not dismiss the American’s chances. However, Makhachev believes the eight-year age gap will be an advantage for the younger Topuria. Makhachev is picking “El Matador” to defeat Gaethje. Regardless of the outcome, Makhachev believes the fight will be fan-friendly and definitely won’t go the distance.

“Of course, I’…

UFC White House: Freedom 250 won’t be the first time that Steve Garcia has fought outdoors.

Garcia (19-5) is scheduled to open the iconic UFC White House card in a featherweight tilt against Diego Lopes (27-8) on June 14. Fighters, pundits and even UFC boss Dana White have expressed various concerns about the promotion’s first outdoor event.

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Garcia, speaking from experience, recently listed his concerns about fighting in the Octagon that will be set up on the South Lawn of the White House. Garcia has fought outdoors twice in his career before. The first time was at night, where he had to face a common issue -- bugs. Many, including White, have expressed concerns about insects at the UFC White House event. Garcia’s first outdoor event, being an amateur one, he also had to deal with lighting issues.

However, Garcia had to weather a more serious issue in his second outdoor event, which was also his professional debut in 2013. Garcia says that the cage…

Sean Brady saw some holes in Belal Muhammad’s game.

Muhammad took on Gabriel Bonfim in a welterweight matchup in the main event at UFC Fight Night 278 on Saturday. Bonfim delivered a master class on the feet, never letting Muhammad get his wrestling game going. While “Remember the Name” put on a display of heart and chin, Bonfim beat him down for five rounds to earn the win by dominant unanimous decision.

Muhammad’s former opponent Brady believes the former champ failed to use a few weapons at his disposal. Namely, when Bonfim kicked, Brady expected Muhammad to either catch the limb or counter it more effectively. Brady noted that Muhammad fought on his back foot for most of the fight, which significantly hampered his wrestling. However, Brady also gave the victor Bonfim credit for placing himself in the best place to win the fight. Brady said on the UFC post-fight show:

“I think [Muhammad] could have worked on catching the kicks a lot more. Gabriel was throwing…

Kyle Daukaus had to conquer some demons after the end of his first stint with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Daukaus (17-4) is scheduled to fight Bo Nickal (8-1) in a middleweight matchup on the UFC White House card on June 14. The placement of Daukaus on the seven-bout billing surprised many, given that one year ago, Daukaus was on the outside of the UFC looking in. His first stint did not go well, with the Pennsylvanian washing out of the promotion with a record of 2-4-1.

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After leaving the UFC, “The D’Arce Knight” saddled back up with his developmental organization of Cage Fury Fighting Championships in the tri-state area. In the span of a year, Daukaus crushed four foes to pick up a title and rebuild his confidence. A late replacement opportunity against Michel Pereira in 2025 worked in his favor as he staged the surprise upset in his UFC return to make himself one to watch in the division going forward. His 50-second submission of Gerald Mee…

Bo Nickal believes people often undermine the body of work he put in before his Ultimate Fighting Championship career.

Nickal is scheduled to fight Kyle Daukaus (17-4) in a middleweight clash on the UFC White House card on June 14. Like many of Nickal’s previous bookings on high-profile cards, some fans believe he didn’t deserve a spot on the iconic seven-fight White House show.

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Nickal (8-1) tries not to take criticism lobbed towards him personally, noting that while he transitioned into MMA in 2021, he has been toiling hard on the wrestling mats for most of his life. Nickal does not entirely understand the hatred cast his way, as he doesn’t call the shots regarding his matchmaking. The wrestler claims he has accepted every matchup that the UFC has offered him so far. Nickal said in an interview with the UFC:

“I mean, it’s natural for people to just be jealous in general. I think a lot of people think that I haven’t earned this spot. What they don’…

Arman Tsarukyan is going all in on the UFC White House headliner.

Interim champion Justin Gaethje (27-5) challenges Ilia Topuria (17-0) to unify the lightweight belts on June 14 at the White House. Sportsbooks and experts have prognosticated that the reach and prominence of these bouts may break single-event MMA betting records. Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight contender Tsarukyan is contributing his own share to the pot, to the tune of $1 million.

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Tip the dealer The Armenian by way of Russia has put down a million dollars on the bout between Topuria and Gaethje. Recording himself on video placing the bet with +570 underdog odds, Tsarukyan has put it all on Gaethje to win. Should “The Highlight” get the job done on Sunday, Tsarukyan can clear $5 million on this bet alone. He posted a screenshot of his betting slip on social media, while promising Gaethje he will buy him a new truck should he defeat Topuria.

Tsarukyan has developed a littl…

Ciryl Gane takes responsibility for poking Tom Aspinall in the eyes.

Gane challenged Aspinall for the undisputed heavyweight title at UFC 320 last October. The highly anticipated matchup met with an anticlimactic end as Gane unintentionally poked Aspinall in both eyes at the same time in the first round. The fight was declared a no contest after Aspinall was unable to continue despite taking four out of the five allotted minutes to recover. Although early into the matchup, some suggested Gane was getting the better of the Brit while it lasted.

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Gane admits that he made a mistake, although it was unintentional. “Bon Gamin” explains that he had mistimed a kick to the midsection, which Aspinall tried to capitalize on by moving forward. The Frenchman instinctively extended his hand to push Aspinall back and ended up poking his eyes.The division keeps turning With Aspinall still recovering from the eye injury, Gane is now scheduled to fight Alex Pereira for…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship gala extravaganza has encountered a legal hitch.

On Friday, the Public Integrity Project—a firm with the mission statement to “stop corruption”—sued the U.S. government on behalf of two individuals from Virginia. The lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (D.D.C.), defendants include the Acting Director of the National Park Service (NPS) Jessica Bowron, the National Capital Region Director of the NPS Jen Nersesian, the U.S. Department of the Interior and its Secretary, Doug Burgum. The plaintiffs request that the court deems the organization of the event itself unlawful and shuts it down, while removing the structures built on the White House lawn to accommodate the fight card.

In the suit itself, the demand for relief declares that the arrangement between the Ultimate Fighting Championship and the White House is corrupt, partially due to the personal relationship between President Donald Trump and UF…

Dana White has an exchange offer of sorts for Eddie Hearn.

As of March, boxing promoter-slash-manager Hearn picked up a major client: Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall. Since that arrangement came into place, Hearn has been harshly criticizing the UFC for underpaying Aspinall. The Matchroom Boxing chairman recently asked for Aspinall’s release from the UFC, promising to increase the Englishman’s earnings substantially more than what he is currently making.

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Responding to Hearn’s comments, White snapped back by asking for the release of one of Hearn’s most valued boxers, two-division champ Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (23-0, 16 KOs). White said at a Zuffa Boxing press conference:

“[Hearn] said he wanted [Aspinall] released, right? Well, you release ‘Bam’ Rodriguez then. Sounds pretty stupid, doesn’t it? Congratulations again, Eddie. You sound stupid again.”

The current WBC, WBO and “The Ring” super flyweight titleholde…

Jeisla Chaves was surprised by the result in her Ultimate Fighting Championship debut.

Chaves made her promotional debut against Yuneisy Duben at UFC Fight Night 278 on Saturday. “A Braba” earned a hard-fought split decision win over Duben at the Apex in Las Vegas. However, the flyweight was surprised by the split nature of the verdict. While Duben managed to win the third round on all the scorecards, judge Tony Weeks also gave her the first round. While Chaves admits that Duben deserved Round 3, she was confident that she did enough to win the first two. Chaves said in a post-fight interview:

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“Very happy with a win in my debut. It was a split decision. I gotta confess, I was really surprised. I was like, ‘Oh my God. We’re gonna have some emotion. Why not? It makes it more fun.’ Thankfully, the win came… I was confident. My corners came to me and said, ‘You won 2-1.’ I felt that we had done enough to win.”

Chaves (8-0) got introduced to combat spor…

Bryce Mitchell feels like he belongs in the bantamweight division.

Mitchell (19-3) was originally scheduled to fight Victor Henry at UFC Fight Night 278 on Saturday. However, Henry was forced out with an injury and replaced by a previously undefeated Santiago Luna (8-1) on short notice. Mitchell dominated Luna on the ground throughout the fight before securing an arm-triangle choke, forcing Luna to tap with less than ten seconds left. While the fight was not very fan-friendly apart from the finish, Mitchell explained that he largely burned his arms out trying to control his opponent. Mitchell remarked in a post-fight interview:

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“I’m squeezing so hard with my arms the whole fight; it was actually hard for me to elbow and punch him. Because you do that with your hands too… When he moves, I finally get to punch, but I don’t get to do very big punches because he is moving. So, you get a heavy grappling match, an exhausting pace, with very little room for…

Tom Nolan’s only professional loss taught him a lot of lessons.

Nolan closed as a betting underdog going into his lightweight clash against Fares Ziam at UFC Fight Night 278 on Saturday in Las Vegas. Nolan outclassed Ziam on the ground while holding his own on the feet to earn a unanimous decision win. This was Nolan’s fifth straight victory after his lone professional loss in his 2024 promotional debut.

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Nolan made it to the Ultimate Fighting Championship with the reputation of a highly touted prospect. In his UFC debut against Nikolas Motta, however, Motta derailed Nolan’s hype train by knocking him out a bit over a minute into the fight. Nolan revealed that he was inexperienced and doing a lot of things wrong as a 23-year-old. However, the Aussie doesn’t want to take away from Motta’s performance. As his stock fell, he rediscovered his love for the game, slowly building himself back. “Big Train” claims he felt no fear of losing going into his clash…

Four fighters earned bonuses at UFC Vegas 118, which was a card filled with finishes.

Edgar Chairez (14-6) was the only prelims fighter to earn a $100,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for his stoppage win over Bruno “Bulldog” Silva (15-9). “Puro Chicali” dropped Silva with an uppercut before quickly snapping in a rear-naked choke to earn the tap in the opening round. The Mexican flyweight is now riding a three-fight winning streak.

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Meanwhile, Iwo Baraniewski (9-0) earned the other POTN bonus of the card for his first-round finish of Junior Tafa (7-6). “Rudy” just needed two brutal leg kicks to drop Tafa before raining vicious ground-and-pound to force the referee to show mercy in 85 seconds. Having finished all nine of his career wins in the opening frame, this was the third straight bonus in as many Ultimate Fighting Championship outings for the undefeated Polish light heavyweight. Brendan Allen (27-7) and Edmen Shahbazyan (16-6) earned $100k …

Gabriel Bonfim did not request entry to the Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight elite. He demanded it.

A potent jab and devastating leg kicks carried the Dana White’s Contender Series graduate to a unanimous decision over Belal Muhammad in the UFC Fight Night 278 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. All three judges turned in 50-45 scorecards for Bonfim (20-1, 7-1 UFC), who has emerged as a genuine threat at 170 pounds.

Muhammad (24-6, 15-6) was beaten to the punch over and over again. Bonfim bloodied the bridge of the VFS Academy cornerstone’s nose with repeated jabs, controlled the real estate from the center of the cage and forced the former champion onto his back foot. He did his best work in Round 3, where he snapped back Muhammad’s head with a vicious three-two and later sent his mouthpiece flying with a mean right cross. Bonfim dialed down his aggression across the final 10 minutes but did more than enough to maintain his lead, all while a…

Sherdog's live UFC Vegas 118 coverage will begin Saturday at 5 p.m. ET. The event is also known as UFC Fight Night 278. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Souza (-300); Carnelossi (+225)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round: The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Chaves (-400); Duben (+300)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result B…

Alessandro Costa took a calculated risk, filled in for Imanol Rodriguez on short notice and capitalized on his opportunity.

The Lobo Gym product took built some more momentum in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, as he wiped out Matt Schnell with punches in the first round of their featured UFC Fight Night 278 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Schnell (17-11, 7-9 UFC) bowed out of their 130-pound catchweight affair 2:32 into Round 1.

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Costa (16-5, 4-3 UFC) bided his time, made his reads and hit the accelerator when the situation called for it. He dazed and felled Schnell with a clean left hook, sprawled on a desperation takedown attempt, pinned the American beneath him and let fly with rapid-fire hammerfists until the job was done.

Meanwhile, MMA Lab mainstay Marcus McGhee outstruck and outmaneuvered John Yannis to a unanimous decision in their three-round bantamweight battle. All three judges turned in scorecards for McGhee (11-2,…

Alessandro Costa took a calculated risk, filled in for Imanol Rodriguez on short notice and capitalized on his opportunity.

The Lobo Gym product took built some more momentum in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, as he wiped out Matt Schnell with punches in the first round of their featured UFC Fight Night 278 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Schnell (17-11, 7-9 UFC) bowed out of their 130-pound catchweight affair 2:32 into Round 1.

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Costa (16-5, 4-3 UFC) bided his time, made his reads and hit the accelerator when the situation called for it. He dazed and felled Schnell with a clean left hook, sprawled on a desperation takedown attempt, pinned the American beneath him and let fly with rapid-fire hammerfists until the job was done.

Meanwhile, MMA Lab mainstay Marcus McGhee outstruck and outmaneuvered John Yannis to a unanimous decision in their three-round bantamweight battle. All three judges turned in scorecards for McGhee (11-2,…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is abandoning “opinion” in its upcoming new rankings system.

The announcement was made during the UFC Vegas 118 broadcast Saturday at The Apex in Las Vegas. The new system will be based on “measurable performance instead of opinion or popularity.” The UFC stated:

“Based on measurable performance instead of opinion or popularity. Designed to reward performance & reflect results inside the Octagon.”

The current UFC rankings are decided by votes from media members from all platforms. UFC head honcho has previously expressed his disagreement with the current rankings system while hailing Jon Jones as the No. 1 pound-for-pound UFC fighter. It remains to be seen whether media members will have any say in the new rankings system.

Josh Hokit believes Tom Aspinall should be stripped of his Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight title.

Aspinall (15-3) hasn’t fought since his first title defense against Ciryl Gane ended in a no-contest due to a double eye poke by Gane at UFC 320 last October. Gane (13-2) is now scheduled to fight Alex Pereira (13-3) for the interim heavyweight title at UFC White House: Freedom 250 on June 14. Hokit (9-0) is also booked to trade leather in a heavyweight tilt against Derrick Lewis (29-13.)

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Hokit believes Gane and Pereira should be fighting for the undisputed title instead of an interim one. Having recently instigated a one-sided beef with Pereira, Hokit wants to fight the Brazilian next. Considering Aspinall’s claims of being unable to drive due to the seriousness of his eye injury, Hokit doubts the Englishman will return anytime soon. “The Incredible Hok” accuses Aspinall of holding up the division with his “theatrics.”

“To get the division…

While Islam Makhachev has had several dominant wins, they are not the ones he cherishes the most.

Makhachev (28-1) recently admitted that winning his second Ultimate Fighting Championship title with a dominant unanimous decision win over Jack Della Maddalena last year was an emotional moment for him. However, that is not the fight that Makhachev rewatches most frequently. Makhachev revealed that his lightweight title defense against Dustin Poirier (30-10) at UFC 302 in 2024 was the most enjoyable performance of his career. What adds to the pleasure is that Makhachev was able to finish Poirier despite throwing caution to the wind.

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“Winning the championship was very emotional,” Makhachev told RedCorner MMA. “But the fight I keep rewatching is the Poirier fight. We fought as if it was a street fight. Plus, I managed to finish him. I really enjoyed this fight.”

Poirier made his third and final UFC lightweight title bid against Makhachev at UFC 302. “T…

While Sean Strickland isn’t satisfied with Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter pay, he doesn’t think it will change anytime soon.

Strickland (31-7) recently accused the UFC of being predatory in terms of fighter pay. While Dana White claims UFC fighters are making more after the new Paramount+ deal, Strickland disagrees. Strickland recently reiterated the fact that the UFC isn’t close to any major sporting league in terms of the revenue share paid to athletic talent. However, Strickland doesn’t think that it will change for the better any time soon. Strickland notes that there will be always be struggling fighters who will be willing to compete for a lesser amount. According to Strickland, fighter pay is the reason behind the decline in the number of American fighters on the UFC roster.

“No one is getting paid more… As far as the payscale, you compare it to any other sporting event, the UFC is the most f**ked up,” Strickland told Complex. “If you compare it to ath…

Sean O’Malley claims to have heard that the date for UFC White House: Freedom 250 could change.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is hosting a historic fight card at the White House on June 14. Billed as UFC Freedom 250, to celebrate America’s 250th year of independence, the card also coincides with President Donald J. Trump’s 80th birthday. The Octagon will be set up on the South Lawn with only limited members of the military in attendance.

O’Malley (19-3) is scheduled to trade leather in a bantamweight matchup against Aiemann Zahabi (14-2) on the card. Apart from unforeseen issues like insects in an outdoor event, O’Malley recently revealed that there several uncertainties about timing for the event. According to O’Malley, the weigh ins for the fight will begin at 11 am, which is two hours later than the usual slot for UFC weigh ins. “Suga” also revealed that there is no official walkout time for fighters. O’Malley even claims to have heard that the card could eve…