Blog

Ilia Topuria is expecting an easy night at the office if Justin Gaethje sticks to his game plan.

Topuria (17-0) will look to defend his lightweight title against interim champion Gaethje (27-5) in the UFC White House: Freedom 250 main event on June 14. Topuria is coming off consecutive knockouts over legends in Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira. Gaethje believes all three veterans made the mistake of going on their back foot against Topuria. Gaethje claims he will try to move forward, even at the cost of absorbing damage.

Advertisement

Topuria believes half the job is already done if Gaethje tries to move forward. “El Matador” claims all he needs to knock someone out is for them to stay stagnant and start trading shots. If Gaethje moves forward, Topuria believes he won’t take more than a couple of minutes to knock out “The Highlight.”

“If he’s gonna do what he has been saying, that he is gonna try to move forward and all that, that’s all I…

Sean O'Malley recently revealed which was the hardest strike he’s ever taken—and it came just when things seemed to be going well.

The former bantamweight titleholder, who faces Aiemann Zahabi at UFC Freedom 250 on Sunday at the White House, said that current champ Petr Yan hit him with the hardest shot of his career. O’Malley, still a rising contender at the time, faced Yan at UFC 280 in 2022 in his biggest step up in competition to that point in his career. Early in Round 2, O’Malley hurt Yan with a huge uppercut, leaving “No Mercy” on wobbly legs. As O’Malley gave chase, smelling blood, Yan turned the tables with a straight left that rocked “Suga.” O’Malley admits that Yan’s left hand was the hardest shot he has eaten so far. O’Malley said on the Friends Keep Secrets podcast:

Advertisement

“Petr Yan, the guy that’s the champ right now. When I fought him in Abu Dhabi, second round, I came out, cracked him hard, rocked him, hit him with a right hand, dropped him.…

Michael Chandler claims he asked for a booking against Benoit St. Denis.

St. Denis is scheduled to fight Paddy Pimblett at UFC 329 on July 11 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Meanwhile, Chandler takes on Mauricio Ruffy at UFC White House: Freedom 250 on June 14.

Chandler recently revealed that he almost had a booking against St. Denis secured for the White House card. While Chandler believes it would have delivered fireworks, the matchup eventually didn’t come to fruition.

“I was actually supposed to fight BSD on this card,” Chandler told UFC on TNT Sports. “I asked for him. I told Hunter Campbell, ‘Name a better fight that you can put on the White House than me vs. BSD. He’s a hard-nosed, fast-paced brawler, fought for his country in the military. I’m a red, white, and blue-blooded American, passionate, come forward, get in your face.’ It would have been a chaotic fight. And then obviously we pivoted to Ruffy.”

While St. Denis is a slight favourite against Pimb…

Dricus Du Plessis claims he put pen to paper for his next fight a while ago, and that the delay is down to his fellow former champ.

Advertisement

“Stillknocks” is widely rumored to be facing former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman at UFC Oklahoma City on July 18. However, the UFC has yet to announce the fight officially. Du Plessis recently accused his upcoming opponent of stalling things on their part. Du Plessis claimed that Usman’s slowness in signing the bout agreement indicates a lack of confidence in his chances of winning, writing on Instagram:

“So apparently a little someone agreed to a fight but actually signing the dotted line isn’t that easy when you know you’re just signing for a show purse. Smart-Yes Scared- Definitely Sorry people the announcement is taking longer than expected but from my side it’s been signed and sealed for a while.”

Du Plessis (23-3) won the title against Sean Strickland in 2024, then defended it twice, against Israel Ad…

Brazilian fans have always lamented the disproportion between the number of Brazilian fighters and Brazilian referees in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Even though Brazil has the second most athletes on the promotion’s roster, behind only the United States, after Mario Yamasaki withdrew from refereeing panels there was a period of several years during which no Brazilian referees were being used by American athletic commissions.

Advertisement

That changed in 2024 when former Shooto and Cage Rage champion, Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro, began to get the call more frequently. Thanks to his excellent performances and high accuracy, the black belt under Andre Pederneiras was chosen to referee the title fight between Joshua Van and Tatsuro Taira in the co-main event of UFC 328.

In an interview with Sherdog a month after the fight, Ribeiro commented on his decision to stop the fight at 1 minute and 32 seconds of the fifth round, giving the TKO win to Van. “It was a ver…

Alex Pereira has a date with history on Sunday, and if things go as planned, he will be on to the next challenge immediately.

Advertisement

Pereira (13-3) faces Ciryl Gane (13-2) for the interim heavyweight title at UFC Freedom 250 on Sunday in Washington, D.C. If he prevails, he will be the first fighter to win UFC titles in three different weight classes, a feat that would bolster his already legendary résumé.

An interim title win would also set up a unification bout with Tom Aspinall, who has been out of action since his title defense against Gane ended in a no contest due to an inadvertent eye poke by the challenger. However, in light of Aspinall’s long recovery, which has reportedly required surgery and may again, “Poatan” claims to be unwilling to wait.

Pereira, who turns 39 in July, wants to fight as soon as possible and he doesn’t think Aspinall will be an option, telling UFC on TNT Sports:

“I don’t think that Tom is going to be ready. I don’t thi…

Justin Gaethje’s former opponent, Eddie Alvarez, recently shared insight on what makes him tick.

Interim champion Gaethje (27-5) challenges Ilia Topuria (17-0) for the lightweight title in the UFC White House: Freedom 250 main event on June 14. Alvarez advised Gaethje to rely on his signature leg kicks. Alvarez also believes Gaethje’s best chance at knocking out Topuria is in between exchanges. According to Alvarez, Topuria’s eyesight is too sharp for Gaethje to land flush while leading the attack. Meanwhile, Alvarez also sees holes in Gaethje’s defense. The former Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champion notes that Gaethje takes his eyes off his opponents, which is a recipe for getting knocked out. Alvarez also doesn’t like Gaethje’s defensive style of shelling up instead of moving and cutting angles.:

Advertisement

“The calf kicks is what he would have to do,” Alvarez said on the Full Send podcast. “And then I would also want him to punch with Ilia. …

Darren Till may or may not be done competing in mixed martial arts for good, but he is definitely losing interest in following it these days.

Advertisement

Till (18-5-1), a longtime Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight and middleweight contender who parted ways with the promotion in 2022, is aware of the UFC Freedom 250 card taking place on Sunday at the White House, but claims he couldn’t care less about it. In a conversation this week with Ariel Helwani, “The Gorilla” shared his views on what he sees as declining overall interest in the industry leader. Nonetheless, he was careful to separate his criticisms of the company from those of its CEO, Dana White. Till’s disappointment with White started when the UFC honcho said he didn’t care about criticism regarding the UFC’s use of artificial intelligence in promotional videos.

“Not interested [in the White House card],” the 33-year-old Englishman said. “As a fan, I just don't think there's that much hype…

Diego Lopes believes we might see a massive upset in the UFC Freedom 250 main event—and he is willing to explain why.

Advertisement

As Ilia Topuria (17-0) looks to defend his lightweight title against interim champion Justin Gaethje (27-5) in the headliner of the UFC White House card on June 14, he figures to enter the Octagon as a 5-to-1 favorite or greater. Lopes initially favored Topuria, but claims he has changed his mind recently and is pulling for Gaethje to pull off the upset he feels is more of a possibility than most observers will admit. Lopes, who is scheduled to open up the event in a featherweight tilt with Steve Garcia, told Ariel Helwani:

“99% of the people think Topuria takes the win, I thought so before too. But now I jumped to Gaethje’s side. Because this is like a car crash. In a car crash there 50-50 [chance]. Gaethje has heavy hands. I hope Justin Gaethje surprises everyone and me too.”

Lopes also believes Topuria has yet to face a kn…

Tom Aspinall’s relationship with the Ultimate Fighting Championship may not be as sour as some think.

UFC heavyweight champion Aspinall (15-3) is currently sidelined due to eye injuries suffered in his title defense against Ciryl Gane (13-2) last year. Gane is now scheduled to fight Alex Pereira (13-3) for an interim heavyweight title in the co-headliner at UFC White House: Freedom 250 on June 14.

Advertisement

Dana White recently revealed that if Aspinall was fit, he would have defended his title against Pereira at the White House, leaving Gane out of the picture.

“100% [Aspinall vs. Pereira] would have been the fight if he was fit,” White told UFC on TNT Sports. “A lot of our champions are hurt right now. There’s a lot of things you have to deal with when you’re making these matches, with timing and everything else going on in everyone’s life, injuries. But yeah, it would have been Tom.”

Aspinall’s first title defense ended in an unfortunate no-contest …

Steve Garcia has a big fight coming up this weekend—and a similarly big chip on his shoulder.

Advertisement

“Mean Machine” (19-5) is set to face two-time former title challenger Diego Lopes (27-8) in the opening bout of UFC White House: Freedom 250 on Sunday at the White House. Heading into the biggest fight of his career, the 34-year-old New Mexico native claimed that he doesn’t receive due credit for the body of work he has put in. Despite riding one of the longest win streaks in the entire division at seven straight—six of them by knockout—Garcia lamented his lack of recognition, telling Ariel Helwani:

“I do still feel disrespected. I do feel like people don't count me seriously, but I finally get a platform where I can go out there and continue to prove otherwise. I have seven knockouts in the UFC, eight wins... I've knocked out several guys, and, bro, I don't even have a Topps card. Everybody on the White House card pretty much has a Topps card… I got a bi…

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.

Advertisement

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.

Advertisement

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.

Advertisement

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.

Advertisement

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.

Advertisement

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.

Advertisement

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.

Advertisement

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.

Advertisement

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.

Advertisement

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:

Advertisement

“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:

Advertisement

“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…