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Manel Kape is giving Joshua Van his flowers. 

Van (17-2) put his flyweight title on the line against Tatsuro Taira in the co-main event at UFC 328 on Saturday in Newark, New Jersey. “The Fearless” showed excellent takedown defense while picking Taira apart on the feet en route to a fifth-round stoppage win. Many had refused to consider Van a legitimate champion after he won the title against Alexandre Pantoja due to an injury last year. 

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As Van left no doubt in his first title defense, Kape took a shot at the champion’s haters. Kape believes the only reason fellow flyweights slammed Van is jealousy. Kape congratulated Van on his win over Taira. 

Kape further noted that he had an involuntary role to play in Van’s rise to title contention. Kape and Brandon Royval were originally scheduled to fight in 2025, before Royval pulled out due to an injury. While the matchup was postponed to UFC 317 in June, this time, Kape was forced out with a…

Joshua Van silenced the doubters at UFC 328. | Getty/UFC

For some, Joshua Van’s injury-shortened victory over Alexandre Pantoja last December was always going to be accompanied by an asterisk.

After all, the flyweight title fight barely had a chance to unfold before Pantoja suffered an arm injury 26 seconds into Round 1 at UFC 323. While Van celebrated becoming a champion, he still had something to prove heading into his first title defense against Tatsuro Taira at UFC 328 on Saturday. Van delivered in that regard, weathering some early adversity en route to a fifth-round technical knockout victory over the Japanese standout in the evening’s co-headliner at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

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“I feel great. I think I have proof that I am a world champion, you know,” Van said in a post-fight interview with the UFC. “Shout out to [Taira], nothing but respect to him. He’s a tough motherf—er.

While Taira was able to impose his w…

Dricus Du Plessis just re-entered the UFC middleweight championship picture almost by default.

The South African suffered a lopsided decision loss to Khamzat Chimaev in their title clash at UFC 319 last August, so one could excuse him if he was cheering for Sean Strickland on Saturday night. Strickland delivered in a big way, upsetting Chimaev via split decision to reclaim the 185-pound belt in the UFC 328 headliner at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

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Du Plessis, of course, is 2-0 against Strickland. “Stillknocks” captured 185-pound gold with a split-decision triumph over Strickland at UFC 297 in January 2024, and he successfully defended the strap with a more convincing five-round verdict in their rematch at UFC 312 in February 2025.Just As He Expected Du Plessis reacted to Strickland’s win on the UFC’s Instagram account, claiming that he expected his rival to perform the way he did against the Chechen grappler.

“Fight went exactly t…

The lineup is official for Most Valuable Promotions first mixed martial arts event.

The organization recently unveiled the bout order for Saturday’s card, which takes place at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. One notable change to the original lineup is that Nate Diaz vs. Mike Perry has been elevated to the evening’s co-main event, while Francis Ngannou vs. Philipe Lins will now be the third from last fight on the card.

Most Valuable Promotions "Rousey vs. Carano" is headlined by a five-round featherweight clash pitting Ronda Rousey against Gina Carano. The main card airs on Netflix at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, while prelims stream on the MVP YouTube channel and Tudum at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT.

Rousey, 39, was one-half of the first-ever women’s bout in the UFC, when she claimed the bantamweight crown with a first-round submission of Liz Carmouche at UFC 157 in February 2013. That was part of a 12-fight winning streak by Rousey to begin her MMA career, as she emerged as one o…

Sean Strickland fought at less than 100% at UFC 328. | Getty/UFC

If it seems like Sean Strickland was even more relliant on his jab than usual at UFC 328, well, there might be a reason for that.

Strickland regained the middleweight title with a split-decision triumph over Khamzat Chimaev in Saturday’s main event at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. After being grounded for the majority of Round 1, Strickland gradually built momentum by turning the fight into a standup battle — where he was able to outduel his Chechen rival. Still, Strickland wasn’t 100% during his upset victory due to an injury he sustained while sparring former Bellator champ Johnny Eblen.

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"You guys want to hear something funny?" Strickland said at the post-fight press conference. "So on Tuesday, I'm sparring Johnny, that motherf—er, the PFL champ. And I'm at Plinio's gym, Cruz's gym, and he f—ing shoots on me, and I hit his brick-ass wall, and I separated my…

Khamzat Chimaev's future remains uncertain after UFC 328. | Getty/UFC

Khamzat Chimaev was a man of few words following his upset loss to Sean Strickland in the UFC 328 main event.

After relinquishing the middleweight title in a split-decision defeat on Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, Chimaev exited the Octagon without doing the post-fight interview that is typical of main event competitors. While “Borz” didn’t speak in the immediate aftermath of his first career loss, he did release a statement on social media implying that he might not be done in the middleweight division.

“[Sean Strickland] see you soon again,” Chimaev wrote on X.

@SStricklandMMA see you soon again 🫡

— Khamzat Chimaev (@KChimaev) May 10, 2026 Moving on Up? Chimaev and Strickland are former training partners, so it’s possible that the Chechen standout could be referencing a future sparring session rather than a title rematch. C…

Khamzat Chimaev’s teammate, Baisangur Susurkaev, pulled off a win at UFC 328 with a move he barely trains. 

Susurkaev took on Djorden Santos in a middleweight matchup on the UFC 328 prelims on Saturday. While Susurkaev mostly outclassed Santos on the feet, the tough Brazilian also returned fire. Susurkaev finally took Santos down and put him to sleep with a rear-naked choke in the third round. 

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  Susurkaev surprisingly revealed that submissions aren’t usually a part of his arsenal. The undefeated Chechnyan claims he is never able to pull off submissions in the gym, although he tries sometimes. Susurkaev also leaves his teammates surprised whenever he tries doing something in the grappling department. “Hunter” believes the unexpected moves come out from deep inside him when he is scared.Relying on Instinct “I never train submissions in the gym,” Susurkaev said in a post-fight interview with the UFC. “I try sometimes but I can’t. I don’t …

Jim Miller is excited about the night he will call it a career. 

Miller took on Jared Gordon in a lightweight matchup at UFC 328 on Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Miller locked in a guillotine choke, forcing Gordon (21-9) to tap in the very first round. Miller extended his record for the most fights in UFC history (47), most wins in UFC history (28), and most guillotine submissions in UFC history (6). This also marked the 20th UFC finish for the 42-year-old, putting him just behind Charles Oliveira (21) for the most finishes in the history of the promotion. 

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The Quest for 50 Miller (39-19) wants to achieve the record of 50 UFC fights. “A-10” hopes to fight once more in 2026, reach his aim of 50 UFC fights by 2027, and hang up his gloves. Miller reveals that he is even excited about the night he will finally leave his gloves inside the Octagon and doesn’t want anything to take away from that moment.

“Another one t…

Yaroslav Amosov wants an absolute war inside the Octagon. 

Amosov (30-1) made his sophomore UFC appearance against Joel Alvarez at UFC 328 on Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Amosov looked nearly flawless as he dominated Alvarez on the ground before making him tap with an arm-triangle in the second round. 

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Amosov admits that it is always good to finish a fight instead of going the distance. However, the former Bellator MMA welterweight champion also dreams of having a five-round bloodbath inside the Octagon where he is tested to his limits.

“If can do knockout or submission, finish it, it’s of course much better than full fight,” Amosov said in a post-fight interview with the UFC. “But sometimes, my dream – full fight, five rounds, hard fight, bones to bones. Much blood. Hard, very close fight.” 

Looking Ahead Amosov dominated Bellator’s welterweight division before suffering his lone professional loss aga…

Ateba Abega Gautier is aiming high for his next fight. 

Gautier faced Osman Diaz in a middleweight matchup at UFC 328 on Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. While Diaz managed to defend himself in the first round, Gautier knocked him out with a right hand early in the second round. Gautier says he was prepared to go the distance and was in no rush to finish the fight. “The Silent Assassin” claims he wasn’t even looking for the knockout when it came.

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“I went to the cage thinking, ‘I’m going for 15 minutes,’” Gautier said in a post-fight interview witht the UFC. “If he hangs up before 15, it’s fine, but if he doesn’t hang up, it’s OK… I didn’t even try to knock him out. It just comes naturally.”

Gautier called out Israel Adesanya after his win over Diaz. Gautier explains that he is a huge fan of Adesanya and considers the former champ a legend. While Gautier admires Adesanya, the Cameroonian wants to test himself against “The…

Josh Hokit and Paulo Costa have seemingly not buried the hatchet. 

Hokit (9-0) and Costa (16-4) were both in attendance at UFC 328 on Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Things got heated between the two as they came head-to-head. However, security personnel intervened before things could escalate. 

Hokit has been attracting the attention of many, including Costa, with his unabashed trash talk. Both fighters fought on the UFC 327 card last month. While Hokit defeated Curtis Blaydes in the “Fight of the Night,” Costa handed Azamat Murzakanov his first professional loss. Hokit was immediately booked against Derrick Lewis for UFC White House on June 14. 

However, Costa subsequently offered to replace Lewis against Hokit. Hokit and Lewis appeared to have briefly resolved their beef as they shared a laugh over an Instagram post. While the rivalry has seemingly not settled, it doesn’t seem there are any serious hard feelings between…

King Green is eyeing Renato "Moicano" Carneiro after his UFC 328 win.

Green opened the UFC 328 main card action against fellow veteran Jeremy Stephens on Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Green took Stephens down and made him tap with a rear-naked choke late in the first round. Stephens had missed the lightweight limit by four pounds, forfeiting nearly 30% of his purse to Green.

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Calling His Shot Green subsequently called for a matchup against “Money Moicano,” who allegedly called him old. The 39-year-old vows to hand Carneiro a “grandpa ass whooping.”

“I know ‘Moicano’ was calling me the old man,” Green told Megan Olivi. “So I was like, ‘Maybe he wants to fight. Who is he calling old? I’ll give you a grandpa ass whooping. So if he wants to fight, if he wants a name, I’m the name for you, brother.”  

Green (35-17) is currently riding a three-fight winning streak with two finishes. Meanwhile, Carneiro (21-7) scor…

Luiz Gustavo captured Rizin lightweight gold on Sunday. | Rizin FF

After close to eight years on the roster, Luiz Gustavo’s dream of becoming a Rizin Fighting Federation world champion was at last realized on Sunday at Rizin 53in Kobe, Hyogo, Japan. Gustavo brutally knocked out Ilhom Nazimov in the first round to become the new Rizin lightweight champion in his 12th fight for the promotion.

Gustavo (16-4, 8-4 Rizin), who challenged unsuccessfully for the Rizin lightweight strap in September 2024, made the most of his second chance and handed Nazimov (13-4, 4-1 Rizin) his first defeat under the Rizin banner. Early on, Nazimov cut off the ring very well and prevented Gustavo from using any lateral movement. Nazimov landed two spinning back kicks to Gustavo’s upper body and seemed to be comfortable in the striking exchanges. That changed soon after, however, as Gustavo landed a thunderous right hook that sent Nazimov crashing to the mat. Gustavo immediately pounc…

Sherdog's live UFC 328 coverage will begin Saturday at 5 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Ochoa (-180), Carpenter (+150)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round: The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Susurkaev (-625), Santos (+455)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result BETTI…

Most Valuable Promotions’ first MMA card has taken a hit one week before the event.

The promotion on Saturday announced that Muhammad Mokaev has been pulled from his proposed bout against Adriano Moraes due to “visa delays.” As a result, Phumi Nkuta will step in and face Moraes in a 130-pound catchweight matchup.

Most Valuable Promotions "Rousey vs. Carano" takes place on May 16 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles and is headlined by a five-round, featherweight clash pitting Ronda Rousey against Gina Carano. The main card airs on Netflix beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. The prelims, which include Moraes vs. Nkuta, kick off at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT on MVP’s YouTube channel.Unbeaten and Experienced A native of Johannesburg, South Africa, Nkuta will take an 11-0 professional mark into the showdown against Moraes. The 30-year-old known as “Turbo” last appeared at Urijah Faber’s A1 Combat 34 on March 27, when he took a unanimous verdict over Namiki Kawahara. Nkuta is a former …

Justin Gaethje believes he has faced a tougher opponent than Ilia Topuria. 

Gaethje (27-5) will try to unify the title against the champion Topuria (17-0) at UFC White House on June 14. Topuria is currently on murderous streak with knockouts over Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira. However, Gaethje has made a career out of fighting lightweight legends. Gaethje believes he has faced a tougher opponent than Topuria in Khabib Nurmagomedov. However, Gaethje gives Topuria his flowers for his knockout streak.

“I think he is my second toughest test ever, next to Khabib,” Gaethje said at the UFC White House press conference. “But yeah, those three knockouts: Volkanovski, Holloway, Oliveira — legendary. So it’s just gonna make this win that much more spectacular.” 

Putting It All on the Line Gaethje was also the interim champion when he made his first title bid against Nurmagomedov in 2020, suffering a second-round submission loss. “The Highl…

Conor McGregor believes fighters are still trying to copy him on the mic. 

While there have been others like Chael Sonnen before McGregor, “Notorious” undoubtedly took the sport to new heights with his mic skills, which were backed up by his performances inside the Octagon. Many fighters have since realized the importance of mic skills and have been trying to capitalize on them. 

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UFC Freedom 250 is a one-of-a-kind card scheduled for June 14 at the White House. A pre-fight press conference for the card was held at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Friday, ahead of the UFC 328 ceremonial weigh-ins. The card features UFC’s latest trash-talking sensation, Josh Hokit, against Derrick Lewis. Hokit didn’t miss his chance in the limelight, going all out against Lewis, Alex Pereira and Ilia Topuria. McGregor saw multiple “spin-offs” of himself at the Freedom Fights 250 press conference.The Sincerest Form of Flattery “McG spin offs all…

Steve Erceg is eyeing two very stylistically different opponents for his next fight. 

Erceg is coming off a unanimous decision win over Tim Elliott at UFC Perth earlier this month. “Astro Boy” has been watching suggestions about his next potential opponents. Amir Albazi and Brandon Royval are two of the most suggested names for Erceg, which makes sense to the Australian. Erceg notes that Albazi and Royval are two stylistically different matchups but he is willing to face either.

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Ready and Willing “I have watching and looking up posts of who people think I should fight,” Erceg told heavywgtMMA. “Two that were brought up were Amir Albazi and Brandon Royval. I think they are both coming off losses but they are ranked ahead of me. So I think it would be a good time to meet either one of them. They are obviously two very different fighters. Meet up and let’s have a crash.”  

Erceg (14-4) went on a three-fight slump starting with his failed…

Cody Garbrandt edged Long Xiao at UFC 326. | Getty/UFC

A bantamweight pairing has been added to UFC 329 that has all the makings of a potential banger. 

Cody Garbrandt will face Adrian Yanez at UFC 329 on July 11 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. MMAFighting.com was first to report the bout.

Back in the Win Column Garbrandt (15-7) is coming off a unanimous decision win over Long Xiao in a bout he was essentially losing. The scorecards turned in favor of Garbrandt as Xiao was penalized with two points due to three low blows. The win saw Garbrandt rebound from losses to Deiveson Figueiredo and Raoni Barcelos. 

Meanwhile, Yanez (17-6) fought Ricky Simon to a majority draw this past March. Yanez has only won once in his past five outings, a knockout victory over Vinicius Salvador in 2024. 

Kangjie Zhu won’t face Ramon Taveras at UFC Macau. 

Zhu and Taveras were set to trade leather in a featherweight tilt at UFC Fight Night 277 on May 30 at the Galaxy Arena in Macau, China. However, Taveras is now out of the booking due to unknown reasons. Taveras will be replaced by Rodrigo Vera, who steps in on three weeks’ notice. Vera’s management, Iridium Sports Agency, was first to announce the new booking.

Riding a five-fight winning streak, Kangjie (21-4) makes his debut in his homeland after winning the Road to UFC Season 3 featherweight tournament last year. Meanwhile, fellow debutant Vera (21-1) is also making waves on the regional circuit. The Peruvian is undefeated in 13 straight bouts since 2020. 

Prospects Collide

🚨 We’re very pleased & excited to announce that #TeamIridium’s @rodrigovera3 (21-1-1) is taking his talents to the @ufc & will make his highly anticipated Octagon premiere at #UFCMacau 📃🖊 #…

The scenes were wild at the UFC White House pre-fight press conference. 

Josh Hokit went on an unprovoked tirade against Alex Pereira at the event. Known for cutting WWE-esque promos, Hokit might have crossed a line in this instance.

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“Alex gained some weight and now he thinks he is King Kong,” Hokit said. “But his girl said the steroids killed his ding dong. I'm gonna Chama on yo mama. This guy is the baddest man on the planet? Look how I speak to him, like my dog, like my bitch. F—k you.”Keeping CoolPereira didn’t think it was necessary to respond to Hokit with the same intensity. “Poatan” instead detailed their interaction earlier in the day. “I have nothing to say about this guy,” Pereira said. “We were giving an interview earlier today, this guy just goes right by me, starts saying things. I looked at him in his eye and said, ‘Chama.’”

Ilia Topuria, who was sitting next to Pereira, then said that the Brazilian doesn’t need to respond to H…

Khamzat Chimaev’s UFC 328 weigh-in will always be marred by controversy. 

Chimaev is scheduled to defend his middleweight title against Sean Strickland at UFC 328 on Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. While making weight was a major issue for Chimaev at welterweight, that issue was apparently addressed with his move up to middleweight in 2022. 

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However, Chimaev appeared extremely drained while weighing in for UFC 328. While Chimaev officially made weight, the weigh-in was controversial. Chimaev stepped on the scale only for a few moments before the officials called 185 — even before the scale settled. Hawk-eyed fans didn't fail to notice the hurried weigh-in for the middleweight champion. 

UFC bantamweight Bryce Mitchell also accused Chimaev of missing weight. While Mitchell didn’t directly accuse the UFC, he is certain that “Borz” didn’t make weight. According to “Thug Nasty” Chimaev gets preferential treatment…

Josh Hokit and Sean Strickland can seemingly criticize each other without much animosity.

Hokit and Strickland are both known for crossing boundaries with their trash talk. Hokit recently went off on multiple fighters during the UFC White House presser in Newark, New Jersey. Strickland, who has recently been critical of Hokit’s trash talk, doubled down on it.

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“This is wild coming from me but Josh goes way too far,” Strickland wrote on X. “Chandler’s wife, Ilia Topuria ex...I know it’s the WWE thing but its too much.”

This is wild coming from me but Josh goes way too far. Chandlers wife, Ilia Topuria ex...I know its the WWE thing but its too much.

— Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA) May 8, 2026 Looking for Common Ground Despite the criticism, Hokit didn’t show much hostility towards Strickland. “The Incredible Hok” merely reminded Strickland that he often crosses boundaries with his own trash talk. Hokit, who sports the s…

Ultimate Fighting Championship head Dana White had few answers for his actions a couple years ago.

At a New Year’s Eve celebration in Mexico at the end of 2022, White was filmed slapping his wife in the midst of a physical altercation. As seen in the video, he appeared to grab wife, Anne, by the wrist, and she struck him in the face. He responded by slapping her back, before others intervened. White received no public punishment from his organization, and no charges were filed.

White and his wife both explained later that alcohol played a factor into tensions escalating between them, resulting in them slapping one another. After regularly declaring that “there is never an excuse for a man to put his hands on a woman,” he did so and did not receive any notable consequences. White suggested that the stigma of him doing so was his punishment, that he would always been known as a man who struck his wife.Rules for thee, not for me Appearing on a recent episode of “The Break…