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Islam Makhachev and Daniel Cormier were at the Champions League finals supporting rival teams. 

Paris Saint-Germain faced Arsenal in the Champions League final on Friday at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary. Cormier, along with Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov, watched the game live at the Arena. While Makhachev and Nurmagomedov are known PSG supporters, Cormier is an Arsenal fan. 

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Kai Havertz took the lead for Arsenal just five minutes into the game. Ousmane Dembele scored the equalizer for PSG at 64 minutes in the second half. The game eventually went to the penalties, where PSG defeated Arsenal. 

Makhachev subsequently posted a video on his Instagram Stories where he could be seen trolling Cormier. Seeing Cormier smile, Makhachev asked: “Hey DC, why you’re so happy, bro? You support Arsenal. Why are you still happy bro?”

Reason to Smile Cormier said that while he was sad, the only thing that lifted his spirits was seeing h…

UFC Oklahoma City could see a potential change of guard at middleweight. 

Former middleweight title challenger Jared Cannonier is set to face Chris Leroy Duncan at UFC Fight Night 281 on July 18 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. MagicM was first to report the booking on social media, and it was later officially confirmed by the UFC. The Las Vegas-based promotion also recently announced a welterweight clash pitting Kevin Holland against Jacobe Smith.

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Gatekeeper vs. Rising Talent While Cannonier (18-9) has been a perennial contender at middleweight, he has recently taken up the role of a gatekeeper at the top of the division. “The Killa Gorilla” has dropped three of his last four, with the losses coming against elite opponents in Nassourdine Imavov, Caio Borralho and Michael Page. 

Meanwhile, Duncan (14-2) is on a four-fight winning streak that includes two spinning backfist knockouts. The Englishman suffered his last loss in 2024 agai…

Eddie Hearn says Tom Aspinall is one of the most underpaid athletes in professional sports. 

Hearn is the former manager of boxer Conor Benn, who was recently poached by Zuffa Boxing, which the UFC’s parent company owns. Benn signed a $15 million contract, sparking dissent among UFC fighters. When Hearn criticized the signing, Dana White said that the Matchroom Boxing chairman should instead be happy for Benn earning as much as he can. 

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Hearn now looks to give White a taste of his own medicine. Hearn recently started managing UFC heavyweight champion. Hearn called for Aspinall's release from the UFC, although it didn’t seem very sincere. Hearn guarantees he can arrange for Aspinall to be paid three times what he is earning in the UFC. Hearn notes that according to White’s own ideology, he should be happy for Aspinall to be earning as much as possible. Doubling down on his criticism of Aspinall’s contract, Hearn says “Honey Badger” is one o…

While Carlos Prates has no plans of fighting again before he gets a title shot, he would fight Michael Morales if he had to. 

Prates (24-7) demolished former welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena at UFC Perth earlier this month to firmly establish himself as a contender. However, Prates believes Ian Garry, who previously defeated him, will challenge Islam Makhachev for the welterweight title next. Prates is confident that he will be next in line for a title shot against the winner of the fight between Makhachev and Garry. 

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According to Prates, Garry will likely challenge Makhachev at UFC 330 on Aug. 15 in Philadelphia. Prates has no issues waiting for a shot against the winner of the fight. However, that could stall the UFC welterweight title picture until next year. If Prates has to fight again in the meantime, he would pick undefeated Ecuadorian contender Morales (19-0).Considering the Possibilities“If I have no choice, if I have to…

Top UFC athletes are undergoing treatment at Ways2Well on Joe Rogan’s recommendation. 

Sean Strickland recently revealed that he suffered a minor muscle tear in his right shoulder. Strickland is now undergoing treatment at Ways2Well in Austin, Texas, on Rogan’s recommendation.

“Real small tear,” Strickland said on Instagram. “Ways2Well, they’re gonna fix me up. Joe Rogan got me to this place, he swears by it. We're gonna get back in the cage soon.”

Strickland also said that he won’t have to undergo surgery to get his shoulder fixed. 

Good CompanyJon Jones had also been treated at Ways2Well earlier this year on Rogan’s recommendation. Jones primarily underwent treatment for arthritis in his hips. 

Strickland (30-7) won the UFC middleweight title for the second time with a monumental upset win over Khamzat Chimaev earlier this month. While Chimaev is eyeing a rematch, Strickland has expressed interest in defending his title against Nassourdin…

Merab Dvalishvili has some unexplained animosity towards Umar Nurmagomedov. 

Dvalishvili lost his bantamweight title in a rematch against Petr Yan at UFC 323 this past December. Dvalishvili now expects to challenge Yan for the title in a trilogy. Meanwhile, former champion Sean O’Malley is scheduled to fight top contender Aiemann Zahabi at UFC White House on June 14. 

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Dvalishvili was recently attending a presser for his upcoming wrestling match against Frankie Edgar at RAF 9. Dvalishvili was asked if he would consider a rematch against Nurmagomedov in case the winner of O’Malley vs. Zahabi jumped the queue for the next title shot. Dvalishvili confidently doubled down on his claims of a confirmed trilogy against Yan. “The Machine” then completely dismissed Nurmagomedov.Bad Blood Lingers “What kind of question is this?” Dvalishvsili said. “I’m sure you know I’m fighting Petr Yan, it's gonna be trilogy. He beat me last fight and we have to fi…

Arman Tsarukyan isn’t very excited about the backup spot for the UFC White House main event. 

Ilia Topuria will look to defend his lightweight title against interim champion Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250 on June 14 at the White House. Dana White recently announced that Tsarukyan is the official backup fighter for the lightweight title fight at the White House. 

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However, with no injuries reported, hardly two weeks ahead of the fight, Tsarukyan doesn’t think his services will be needed. Tsarukyan also notes that he is scheduled to wrestle Tony Ferguson at RAF 10 on June 13, which will be the same day as the weigh-ins for the UFC White House card.Booked Until September “I’m booked until September already… I have wrestling match on June 13, we’ll see,” Tsarukyan said while attending a presser for his RAF 9 wrestling match against “Mugzy.” “I am a backup, but everything is going good, two weeks left, I think they’re gonna fight. So, I’m gonn…

Overweight military personnel aren’t welcome to the UFC White House event. 

The UFC is hosting a one-of-a-kind event at the White House on June 14 to celebrate America’s 250th year of independence. The event also coincides with President Donald Trump’s birthday. 

While there will be no tickets for the general public, 4,300 special guests, mostly members of the military, will watch the event at the South Lawn of the White House. Meanwhile, 85,000 free tickets will be available for the general public to watch the event on screen at the nearby Ellipse. 

Good for Optics?Military personnel allegedly need to meet fitness requirements to be eligible to attend the event. According to a screenshot of an invite shared on social media, “Ticket recipients are required to meet the DOD waist-to-height ratio standard of less than 0.55, as well as all service-specific physical fitness test requirements.” The tickets are also not transferable, even to family member…

Things are heating up between Jean Silva and Melquizael Costa. 

Silva and Costa both recently attended LFA 234 at Ginásio do Polvilho in Cajamar, São Paulo, Brazil. Videos have since surfaced of Silva confronting Costa at the event. Costa can still be seen smiling, while an animated Silva points his finger at him and says something in Portuguese. 

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A Recent Callout Costa (26-8) had initially called out Silva (17-3) after a highlight reel spinning-back-kick knockout win over Dan Ige this past September. However, Costa has since suffered a hard-fought unanimous decision loss against Arnold Allen earlier this month. It marked the end of an impressive six-fight winning streak for “The Dalmatian.”

Costa is unlikely to get an immediate booking against Silva, who is coming off a decision win over Allen. Silva’s win over Allen saw him rebound from his only UFC loss against Diego Lopes. 

Oh a treta! 👀🔥

O Jea…

Who will stay at the top? 🗣️@SongYadongLFG vs @Daico_Deiveson

[ #UFCMacau LIVE MAY 30 at 7amET on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/8GyWM4ZgPl

— UFC (@ufc) May 29, 2026 The Ultimate Fighting Championship's return to China is officially set following the UFC Macau weigh-ins.

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The UFC Fight Night event will be headlined by a bantamweight clash between Yadong Song and former flyweight king Deiveson Figueiredo. Both men had no issue making weight, nor did the rest of the card. In total, all 26 fighters hit their marks for a professional weigh-in devoid of any drama.

The "Kung Fu Kid" hasn't fought in his home country since 2018. Since then, Song (22-9-1, 1 NC) has established himself among the top bantamweights, although he's fallen short to elite fighters like Sean O'Malley, Petr Yan and Cory Sandhagen. 3-2 in his last five fights, the 28-year-old will look to show he's still improving and weighed 136 pounds on the dot for…

Ultimate Fighting Championship Hall of Famer Anderson Silva still is not seeing eye-to-eye with his former boss.

Speaking to Rolling Stone recently, UFC President and CEO Dana White spoke about a myriad of issues. One included the end of the career of Silva, which White claimed did not go well. In addition to the number of losses that Silva accrued consecutively, White suggested that “The Spider” was difficult to deal with from a negotiating perspective.

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Consider it just another day for “The Spider,” who responded directly to a post by “Canal Punch” about Dana’s comments on Instagram. In Portuguese, Silva repeatedly referred to White as “the bald guy” while dismissing most of what White had to say.The bald guy “The bald guy saying s--t,” Silva remarked. “I’ve been out of the organization for many years, but it seems neither the current fighters nor the bald guy can forget my achievements. Deep down, the bald guy knows that with me there was no whinin…

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