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One major voice inside of the Ultimate Fighting Championship is not a fan of the upcoming spectacle.

Speaking on his podcast of the “JRE MMA Show” on Wednesday with guests “Big” John McCarthy and Josh Thomson, color commentator Joe Rogan aired his thoughts about the UFC White House card coming up on June 14. The event is to be held on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., in an outdoor venue that will be subject to weather and more.

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Rogan has spoken up about the event in other contexts, namely that it will be going on during the U.S. war against Iran at the time. His observations and grievances this time around were largely focused on logistics and giving the fighters the best possible situation to perform for what will be the biggest fight of most of their lives.

“The ‘White House’ thing is odd,” Rogan offered. “I don’t like it. I don’t like the idea of fighting outside, at all. And then there’s June, and it’s D.C., and we looke…

Shavkat Rakhmonov is getting back to work.

A video posted by DAR PRO TEAM on Instagram shows the undefeated UFC welterweight in the gym, moving around and doing what appears to be some light sparring. While that wouldn’t normally be significant by itself, it is for Rakhmonov, who has been out of action since December 2024, when he took a five-round verdict over Ian Garry at UFC 310.

A knee injury prevented “Nomad” from challenging then champion Belal Muhammad for welterweight gold in the first half of 2025, and he remained sidelined for the remainder of the year.

More bad news hit at the beginning of 2026, when it was revealed that Rakhmonov would be out for at least nine to 10 more months after reinjuring that same knee. While a timetable for the 31-year-old’s return is unknown, it likely wouldn’t occur until late this year at the earliest.

Rakhmonov’s 19-0 professional mark includes seven triumphs in UFC competition. Garry is the only opponent that he ha…

Colby Covington says he's on good terms with the UFC. | Getty/UFC

Colby Covington is excited about his future with Real American Freestyle, but he won’t completely rule out a UFC comeback before all is said and done.

The former welterweight contender informed the UFC of his retirement last week, potentially ending a 17-bout tenure with the Las Vegas-based promotion. While Covington appeared to be upset after missing out on the UFC White House, “Chaos” now claims the he’s on good terms with the organization.

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"I wasn't let go. I'm still a UFC fighter. I'll always be a UFC fighter,” Covington said on "The Ariel Helwani Show.” “If I come back to fight again, it will be in the UFC. I'm still under contract with the UFC. All is still good with the UFC. I'm thankful for everything they did for me.

"It's 50-50 [if I fight MMA again.] I know I have a lot left in the tank. I know there's a lot of good miles still left on the tread, but I don'…

In a span of three weeks this August, Brazilian MMA fans will have the oportunity to see four UFC champions in action in national soil — but under diferent rules.

Shortly after Spaten announced that a boxing match between ex-UFC champs Mauricio Rua and Glover Teixeira would headline its third event on Aug. 29, Rafael Cordeiro told Sherdog.com that former heavyweight title holders Fabricio Werdum and Junior dos Santos will square off in a grappling match in the featured attraction at Kings Championship 2 on Aug. 8.

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According to Cordeiro, the event will be promoted in Florianópolis Santa Catarina with the full support of local governor. The Kings MMA leader plans to announce the full card, which will also include MMA fights, in the near future.Finishing the TrilogyDos Santos and Werdum initially squared off at UFC 90 in October 2008, with “Cigano” winning via first-round TKO. Their paths crossed again at Gamebred Bareknuckle 5, where dos Santos …

Bassil Hafez won't be able to fight until March 2027. | Getty/UFC

Bassil Hafez has been suspended for one year after failing an out-of-competition drug test earlier this year.

UFC anti-doping partner Combat Sports Anti-Doping announced the sanction on Wednesday. The welterweight fighter tested positive for ipamorelin, a prohibited peptide hormone, in a sample collected on March 20 in Las Vegas.

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“During CSAD’s investigation, Hafez provided full and complete cooperation as defined under the UFC ADP,” the statement read. “His cooperation included identifying and introducing CSAD to a wellness clinic he had used to obtain substances he believed were permitted for injury recovery purposes. Hafez has not competed since November 2024 due to injury and did not have a bout scheduled at the time the sample was collected. 

“Evidence gathered during the investigation indicated that, although Hafez claimed he was unaware that a product provi…

A.J. McKee will get top billing at PFL San Diego. | PFL MMA

The lineup is complete for Professional Fighters League’s upcoming trip to San Diego.

PFL San Diego takes place on June 27 at Pechanga Arena and is headlined by a featherweight clash pitting ex-Bellator champ A.J. McKee against Salamat Isbulaev. In the co-main event, 2025 tournament champion Liz Carmouche will meet Viviane Araujo at flyweight.

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Top notch featherweights headline PFL San Diego: Tune in Saturday, June 27 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.

The promotion confirmed four new preliminary bouts for the event on Wednesday: Justin Wetzell vs. Sarvarjon Khamidov at bantamweight; Gamid Khizriev vs. Lorenzo Parente at lightweight; Shannon Clark vs. Ilara Joanne at women’s flyweight and Cobey Fehr vs. Daniel Bzdigian at bantamweight.

The PFL San Diego main card airs on ESPN2 beginning at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, while prelims will be broadcast on the ESPN app at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.<…

Ex-UFC champ Glover Teixeira will lace up the boxing gloves on Aug. 29. | Getty/UFC

Spaten Fight Night is once again bringing the star power for its third event.

After having Chael Sonnen vs, Anderson Silva in the organization’s debut and Wanderlei Silva vs. Acelino Popo Freitas in its sophomore edition, Spaten Fight Night 3 will be headlined by a boxing match between former UFC light heavyweight champions Glover Teixeira and Mauricio Rua.

The first edition was heavily criticized for the excessive respect between Sonnen and “The Spider,” which resulted in a fight lacking both action and emotion. The second event made headlines for the opposite reason due to the excessive animosity between Wanderlei and Popo, which ended with the former Pride Fighting Championships standout being knocked out in a post-fight melee. In this third edition, the promoters took care to invite two champions who, while being extremely competitive, have a deep respect for each o…

Rico Verhoeven believes the scorecards were odd in his controversial loss against Oleksandr Usyk. 

Verhoeven challenged Usyk for the WBC heavyweight title last weekend in Giza, Egypt. Verhoeven dictated most of the fight before he was dropped by Usyk late in the 11th round. While Verhoeven got back up, Usyk followed up with a flurry, which was enough for the referee to stop the fight with a second left in the round. 

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Apart from the controversial stoppage, the scorecards also felt “fishy” to Verhoeven. The bout had open scoring, where the scorecards were revealed to the fighters after every four rounds. Despite evidently leading in the early rounds, Verhoeven was slightly surprised to find out that the scorecards were even after the first four rounds. When the scorecards read as even after eight rounds, Verhoeven felt something was off. Verhoeven believes the open scoring even affected his performance. With the scorecards being even after eig…

Tallison Teixeira returns to action at UFC Macau. | Getty/UFC

Tallison Teixeira will have a chance to make a significant move in the heavyweight divison is he defeat Sergei Pavlovich at UFC Macau on Saturday.

The 6-foot-7 Brazilian has won two of his first three appearances in the promotion, but he faces a tall task against Pavlovich, who is third in the UFC’s official heavyweight rankings. With 11 fights in the UFC and only three losses — to Alistair Overeem, Alexander Volkov and Tom Aspinall — Pavlovich is a strong betting favorite at -650. That underdog status does not worry the Brazilian, who did his entire camp with Glover Teixeira and Alex Pereira.

‘Thank God He Didn’t Connect’ “He is third in the heavyweight rankings, but I trained with Alex, who is one of the greatest in the sport, which gave me a lot of confidence for this fight,” “Xicão” said in an appearance on the "Overdogs Brasil” podcast. “Glover has always been a reference for me in grappli…

Ilia Topuria almost let the nerves get the better of him ahead of his first professional fight. 

Topuria (17-0) recently admitted that he was really scared going into his first professional fight in 2015. While “El Matador” started questioning his career choices, he was also motivated at the same time. Topuria claims that even the thought of not showing up to the fight at all crossed his mind. While Topuria was only 18 years old, his opponent was already a seven-fight veteran by then.

‘I Went Through Hell’ “I was so scared for my first professional fight,’ Topuria said on DeepCuts with VicBlends. “I was like, ‘Why didn’t I study? What am I doing here?’ I was so scared but at the same time so motivated… It was so weird. I went through hell, I remember, that day. I was about to stay in the backstage. I had that thought. And he had way more experience than me. I was 18 years old at that time.” 

Topuria won his first fight against Francisco Aspirilla in the first …

Stephen Thompson believes Ian Garry has the best shot at dethroning Islam Makhachev. 

The UFC welterweight division is currently teeming with contenders. While Carlos Prates and Michael Morales are in the race, Garry is widely considered the frontrunner for the next title shot against Makhachev. 

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Thompson believes Garry poses the biggest threat to Makhachev out of all the contenders. According to Thompson, Garry won’t hesitate to use his wrestling against an elite grappler like Makhachev. “Wonderboy” believes Garry’s well-rounded skills and lanky frame can give Makhachev serious trouble if they fight.Not Afraid to Wrestle “I think Ian Garry would give him a hard time,” Thompson told Full Mount Media. “Ian Garry is not afraid to use his wrestling. You actually see more of his wrestling than [Morales and Prates’]. He’s very crafty; he puts his hands and feet together very well. But he’s not afraid to go out there and wrestle. I do believe tha…

Ilia Topuria would like to make his boxing debut against someone like Shakur Stevenson. 

While Topuria (17-0) acknowledges Stevenson as a good boxer, he believes the four-division world champion has an issue with him. Topuria believes he can hold his own against the best boxers in the world today. While it is not a dream for Topuria, the UFC lightweight champion would like to compete in boxing someday. Topuria would especially like to transition to boxing to fight someone like Stevenson, who, he says, runs his mouth too much.

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“[Shakur Stevenson] is a good fighter,” Topuria said on DeepCuts with VicBlends. “The only bad thing about him, he talks too much. He has some hate towards me… Honestly, I really feel that I can go to boxing and really face the best fighters in the world currently. It’s not like a dream, but if it happens I will be happy. And specifically, if it’s against someone like Shakur Stevenson, who talks too much.”MMA vs. Boxing Revi…

Stephen Thompson believes the best version of Khamzat Chimaev wasn’t present at UFC 328. 

Chimaev (15-1) put his middleweight title on the line against Sean Strickland at UFC 328 earlier this month. Strickland handed Chimaev his first professional loss via a split decision in a massive upset. 

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Thompson questions Chimaev’s training going into the fight against Strickland. Thompson recalls Chimaev had trained in the small village of Kislovodsk, Russia, when he challenged Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 319 last year. Chimaev had ragdolled Du Plessis for five rounds to earn a dominant decision victory. However, “Wonderboy” is surprised that Chimaev didn’t spent as much time in the same camp going into his first title defense. 

“I remember when Khamzat was preparing for Du Plessis,” Thompson told Full Mount MMA. “I think he did a lot of training in [near Dagestan]. I don't think he did a whole a lot for this one. Which surprised me.”

Read more about Stephen Thompson: Khamzat Chimaev beats Sean Strickland in rematch

Rico Verhoeven only wants the concerned parties to admit that they made a mistake in his controversial loss against Oleksandr Usyk. 

Verhoeven challenged Usyk for the WBC heavyweight title last weekend in front of the Pyramids in Giza, Egypt. Verhoeven clearly outclassed Usyk for most of the fight and appeared to be on his way to shock the world with a massive upset. However, Usyk dropped Verhoeven with an uppercut in the final seconds of the 11th round. While Verhoeven returned to his feet, Usyk backed him up with a barrage of shots, which was enough for referee Mark Lyson to step in with a second left in the round. 

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If the last-second stoppage wasn’t controversial enough, rumors also suggest that Lyson stopped the fight after the bell. Verhoeven’s coach, Peter Fury, claims Lyson even admitted his mistake on their flight back home. Verhoeven believes that to err is human. However, he wants Lyson to merely admit his mistake and apologize.&nb…

Ilia Topuria vows to have a “pure striking fight” against Justin Gaethje. 

Topuria (17-0) puts his lightweight title on the line against interim champion Gaethje (27-5) at UFC White House on June 14. While Topuria hails from a wrestling background, “El Matador” has established himself as a lethal knockout artist over the years. 

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Topuria claims he chooses striking over wrestling to entertain fans. The undefeated Georgian-Spaniard defended his featherweight title by handing Max Holloway his only knockout loss ever in 2024. Topuria believes he could have had his way with Holloway on the ground if he wanted. However, Topuria believes a submission win over Holloway wouldn’t have been as exciting as knocking him out cold was. Topuria had even used Holloway’s iconic point down, inviting him to a slugfest in the opening seconds of the fight. However, “Blessed” declined the offer, perhaps wisely. In the Name of Entertainment Topuria believes th…

Movsar Evloev has indicated that he will receive a featherweight title shot this summer. | Getty/UFC

Movsar Evloev has seemingly secured a UFC featherweight title shot. 

Despite having long been the most deserving title contender, Evloev (20-0) has been denied a title shot so far. The undefeated Russian now appears to be confident about fighting for the title at the end of this summer.

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“I am back, end of the summer, and new Inshallah,” Evloev wrote on X.

I am back, end of the summer, and new Inshallah.

— Movsar Evloev (@MovsarUFC) May 27, 2026 The Waiting Game Alexander Volkanovski had already acknowledged Evloev as the most deserving title contender when “The Great” won the title for the second time against Diego Lopes last year. Evloev had already defeated Lopes, who gave him a tough test in a short-notice debut in 2023. However, Lopes surprising leapfrogged ahead of Evloev and challenged Volkanovsk…

Ryan Gandra earned a quick victory in his UFC debut. | Getty/UFC

The UFC 329 card is up to 12 confirmed fights following the addition of a middleweight contest between Ryan Gandra and Zachary Reese.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the lineup for its International Fight Week event in a release on Tuesday. UFC 329 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and is headlined by a welterweight rematch between Conor McGregor and Max Holloway. In the co-main event, Benoit St. Denis will lock horns with Paddy Pimblett at lightweight. The card will air in its entirety on Paramount+.

After earning a promotional contract on UFC in August 2025, Gandra enjoyed a successful Octagon debut at UFC Fight Night 268, where he scored a 41-second stoppage of Jose Medina on Feb. 28. “Problema” has won nine of his 10 professional outings overall, finishing seven of those inside the distance.

Reese, who is also a Contender Series alum, is coming off a split-dec…

Nate Diaz is feeling motivated on the heels of his first mixed martial arts appearance in nearly four years.

The Stockton, California, native squared off against Mike Perry in the Most Valuable Promotions "Rousey vs. Carano" co-headliner, losing via corner stoppage after two rounds on May 16 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. Diaz wasn’t especially competitive, as he was bloodied and battered by Perry for as long as the contest lasted. It was his first fight in MMA since a fourth-round submission win over Tony Ferguson at UFC 279 on Sept. 10, 2022.

Diaz shut down retirement talk at the event’s post-fight press conference, and the popular veteran maintained that sentiment while expressing renewed enthusiasm for a Perry rematch in a recent statement released via social media.

‘Hunting Season’ “I didn’t like my lack of activity because of lack of opponents,” Diaz wrote on Instagram. “I know it was easier to get up to fight me for this fight but now I believe it will …

Usman Nurmagomedov will attempt to defend his lightweight belt for a third time at PFL New York. | PFL MMA

Two of Professional Fighters League’s top stars will be in action when the organization debuts in the Empire State this summer.

PFL New York will be headlined by a lightweight tilt tilt pitting reigning champion Usman Nurmagomedov against Archie Colgan, while Dakota Ditcheva will return from injury to face Denise Kielholtz in the evening’s co-main event. The promotion announced the bookings on Tuesday. PFL New York takes place at UBS Arena in Belmont Park, Long Island and airs on ESPN beginning at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

Nurmagomedov is unbeaten in 22 professional outings, with his lone blemish coming as a result of a failed drug test at Bellator 300. The 28-year-old Dagestani captured PFL lightweight gold with a majority decision over Paul Hughes in January 2025. He has since defended the belt with a unanimous verdict against Hughes in a rematch this …

Deiveson Figueiredo hopes to fight in Brazil after UFC Macau. | Getty/UFC

After losing three of his last four fights, former flyweight champ Deiveson Figueiredo will look to get back on track against Yadong Song in the UFC Macau headliner on Saturday.

After having fought in Macau in 2024, the Brazilian veteran is a little more prepared this time around.

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“I fought Petr Yan here in 2024, but I arrived too late and a little heavy, I felt the jet lag quite a bit (there's a 12-hour difference) and had a tough weight cut,” Figueiredo told Sherdog.com. “This time I made sure to come with my family earlier and arrive in China lighter. Today is Monday and I weighed 67 kilgrams (147 pounds).

“Daico” also revealed that one of the advantages for this fight with Song was the fact that he split his training camp between The Fighting Nerds and Pitbull Brothers.

“I spent two weeks in each one,” he said. “I had an excellent experience with Jean…

Dana White is getting some mainstream coverage as the UFC White House event draws near.

The UFC CEO is on the cover of the latest Time Magazine, which was revealed on Monday along with the headline: “How Dana White took the UFC from the fringes to the White House.”

TIME’s new cover: Dana White helped turn MMA from a fringe blood sport into a global empire through the rise of the UFC. Now, he’s bringing it to the White House’s South Lawn.

“There are some nights, I’ll get up at the end and go, ‘What the f-ck do I do for a living?’”… pic.twitter.com/qXosIuWSUW

— TIME (@TIME) May 26, 2026 Missing Out The in-depth feature includes White’s history with the UFC, his relationship with President Donald Trump and how the White House card came together. One noteworthy revelation in the piece is that White apparently wanted to book a women’s strawweight title fight between Mackenzie Dern and Weili Zhang for the event. The think was that the bou…

Jack Della Maddalena didn’t stop responding to Carlos Prates despite being on the losing end of their fight. 

Prates (24-7) took on Maddalena (18-4) in enemy territory at UFC Perth earlier this month. Prates picked apart the former welterweight champion before finishing him in the third round. Prates recently revealed that he kept talking to Maddalena during the fight. 

When Maddalena shot for a takedown in the opening round, Prates taunted him with Nate Diaz’s famous quote, “So you’re a wrestler now?” Maddalena responded by proclaiming himself a well-rounded fighter. When Prates started dominating Maddalena, he apologized to the Australian, explaining that he was only a hurdle on the way to a title shot. Maddalena urged Prates to go with him until the final bell. Prates was impressed with Maddalena’s toughness.

A Little In-Fight Banter “I started to talk with him, like, ‘Ah, you become a grappler now? You’re a wrestler?’ And then he goes, ‘Nah, I’m a comp…

Arman Tsarukyan’s wrestling must be given credit when it is praised by one of the greatest freestyle wrestlers of all time. 

Abdulrashid Sadulaev recently heaped praise on Tsarukyan’s wrestling. Sadulaev says Tsarukyan often trains in their camp and with other elite Russian wrestlers. Sadulaev also notes that Tsarukyan trains with one of the most respected coaches, Vladimir Modosyan. According to the two-time Olympic gold medalist, Tsarukyan would land in the Top 5 if he competed in the Russian wrestling championship.

High Praise “Arman frequently joined us in camps,” Sadulaev told Red Corner MMA. “He trained with the best wrestlers. Also he always worked with one of our best coaches, it’s one of Russia’s honored coaches — Vladimir Modosyan. I think his wrestling skills are above average. For example, if he competed at the Russian championships he could’ve made it in Top 5.”

Tsarukyan (23-3) remains sidelined from the UFC lightweight title picture despite being wi…

Referee Mark Lyson allegedly admitted to making a mistake in Rico Verhoeven’s controversial loss against Oleksandr Usyk. 

Lyson was the third man inside the ring when Verhoeven challenged Usyk for the WBC heavyweight title last weekend in front of the Pyramids in Giza, Egypt. A massive underdog, Verhoeven landed the more significant strikes for the most part. Verhoeven appeared to be on the way to a monumental upset win when Usyk dropped him late in the 11th round. While Verhoeven returned to his feet, Usyk backed him up with a barrage of unanswered shots. Lyson abruptly stepped in and called a stop to the contest with officially a second left in the 11th round. 

If the official stoppage wasn’t already controversial enough, some rumors suggest that Lyson stopped the bout after the bell went off. The make matters worse, there was no fight clock for viewers on the live broadcast. Verhoeven’s coach Peter Fury claims Lyson was travelling with him on the same fli…