Blog

Tom Aspinall looks like something out of a horror flick after recently undergoing surgery on both of his eyes.

The UFC heavyweight champion recently shared a photo of himself following the procedure, humorously comparing his red-eyed image to Michael Jackson’s Thriller video while playing the theme from “Silence of the Lambs” in the background.

Advertisement

Tom Aspinall shows his eyes one day after surgery 👁️😬

(Via @AspinallMMA ) pic.twitter.com/KDUjNnvULB

— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) February 11, 2026 No Laughing Matter The incident that led to Aspinall’s current plight was no laughing matter, however. The Brit was on the receiving end of a double-eye poke early in his heavyweight title defense against Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 this past October. The bout was ruled a no contest at the 4:35 mark of Round 1 when it was determined that Aspinall couldn’t continue.

The medical team who performed the surgery on Aspinall shared …

Charles Oliveira believes he is a completely different fighter since he first fought Max Holloway. 

Oliveira faced Holloway for the first time in a featherweight tilt in 2015. Holloway folded Oliveira with a couple of body shots in the opening round, forcing the referee to step in. Oliveira was carried out with his neck braced due to an esophagus injury. 

Advertisement

Oliveira is now scheduled to challenge Holloway for the BMF title in a lightweight matchup in the main event at UFC 326 on March 7 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Oliveira says he has evolved into a completely different fighter since his first fight against Holloway. While Oliveira knows that Holloway has grown as well, “Do Bronx” believes he is more well-rounded than he was in their first fight.‘A Lion Among Lions’ “From that last fight to this one, I evolved a lot,” Oliveira said on YouTube. “In that fight, I entered with an injury. It’s a completely different Charles. I know he’s ev…

Geoff Neal has been through a rough patch for the past few years. 

Neal recently revealed that he has been battling alcohol and drug addiction for the past five years. It started around 2020 when Neal went into septic shock. Neal claims his longest periods of sobriety in the last five years were a couple of weeks before his fights. Despite going into his fights underprepared, “Handz of Steel” has surprised himself by managing to stay in the rankings all along. Neal recently overcame addiction by staying sober for 75 days straight.

‘I Fell Into a Hole’ “I got done with the 75 hard challenge two weeks ago,” Neal told Home of Fight. “But I had a real issue for five years, around COVID, when I got sepsis, I fell into a hole… I had a problem with addiction, drugs and alcohol, it was rough, five years of it. The longest I was sober within those five years was two weeks, and those weeks were usually before fights. I’d slow down two weeks before the fight, come to the fight …

Chael Sonnen believes Jon Jones’ drug testing failures don’t take away his GOAT status. 

Jones (28-1) is widely considered the greatest fighter of all time by virtue of his light heavyweight title run, which saw the most title defenses in UFC history. However, Jones’ legacy is marred by multiple performance enhancing drug violations, threatening his GOAT status. Khabib Nurmagomedov’s coach, Javier Mendez, recently said he picks Khabib over Jones as the GOAT, as “Bones” was caught cheating. 

Advertisement

However, Sonnen believes the PED violations shouldn’t deprive Jones of GOAT status. According to Sonnen, Jones probably used PEDs like most others, but was caught for it. While Jones might not be the cleanest fighter, he is still the GOAT for his former foe, Sonnen.Not the Cleanest “I don’t know that Jon ever took anything that the rest of them didn’t take, but he got caught for it,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel. “I’m going to have to go with no… J…

Like many Dagestani MMA stars, Usman Nurmagomedov has the late Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov to credit for his success.

Usman (21-0) recently defended the Professional Fighters League lightweight title for the second time against Alfie Davis at PFL Road to Dubai. Usman subsequently thanked his uncle for the heights that he has scaled in his career. Usman revealed that while their father pushed him and his brother, Umar, into sports, he didn’t have championship aspirations for them. However, their uncle Abdulmanap saw great potential in them and alerted their father about the same. While Abdulmanap is no longer with them, Usman is glad to have his son, Khabib Nurmagomedov, fill in his shoes.

Advertisement

Realizing His Potential “This everything is from my uncle Abdulmanap,” Usman said on the PFL Dubai broadcast. “My father pushed us into sports, but he didn’t have any plans that we’d be champions. But my uncle Abdulmanap, he believed in us. He always came to my father …

Joaquin Buckley is frustrated with the lack of activity in the welterweight division. 

While the welterweight division is teeming with contenders, Buckley can’t find a fight. “New Mansa” recently went off on champion Islam Makhachev and top contenders like Michael Morales, Carlos Prates, Ian Garry and others. Buckley called out former champ Jack Della Maddalena, who he thinks is still recovering from his title loss against Makhachev last year. Buckley is coming off a loss against Kamaru Usman in June 2025. Buckley believes a matchup against Maddalena will be a fresh change for both of them, as they were both held down by wrestlers in their last losses.

Advertisement

A Call for Action   “If I can get anybody active, I’d say JDM,” Buckley said on Instagram. “Me and JDM would be good money. It ain’t because of where he is placed on the rankings, No.1. But I think me and JDM, stylistically we’re just meant, fireworks. And I’m sure because of what we both went…

Daniel Cormier doesn’t think Jon Jones’ arthritis news was leaked without his knowledge. 

While Jones retired last year, he returned to the drug testing pool weeks later following the announcement of UFC White House plans. Jones was rallying for a White House matchup against Alex Pereira until recently. However, that all changed after news of Jones’ arthritis was leaked last week. Jones was at a DirtyBoxing event when he revealed that his left hip is severely compromised with arthritis. “Bones” subsequently accused the fan of recording him with Meta glasses without his knowledge. 

Advertisement

However, Jones’ archrival, Cormier, isn’t buying his version of the story. “DC” believes Jones intentionally leaked the news because he is done fighting. Cormier argues that Jones’ couldn’t have been filmed without his knowledge, as the Meta glasses show a white light when recording starts.Nothing Left? “Jones said the kid filmed him without his knowledge,” Cormie…

Geoff Neal is currently not ready for the drama that could have come with a potential rematch against Kevin Holland.

Neal suffered the first knockout loss of his career against Holland under the Xtreme Knockout banner in 2017. While they both made their way to the UFC next year, a rematch between them never materialized. There were recent rumors of a potential rematch between Neal and Holland. However, Neal is now booked to fight Uros Medic at UFC Houston on Feb. 21. 

Drama Free Zone Neal recently revealed that he is currently not in the ideal frame of mind to fight Holland. Having recently won his battle with addiction, Neal has his hands full, with no room for additional drama. And drama is likely to follow with a matchup against Holland. Neal revealed that his coach and Holland hate each other. To add to the tension, some members left Neal’s gym, Fortis MMA, for Phalanx MMA Academy, where Holland trains. Meanwhile, Neal’s matchup with Medic is unlikely to have an…

Former BKFC foes Mike Perry and Eddie Alvarez apparently had some unfinished business to settle outside of the ring.

In a video that surfaced on Tuesday, Perry appears to be involved in a verbal dispute with people in the crowd — with Alvarez standing nearby — at BKFC Knucklemania 6 at the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. Eventually, that interaction turned into a full-blown melee, and footage seems to show Perry being punched and kicked by multiple people in the audience after he fell to the floor.

Advertisement

Eventually, security was able to intervene and separate both sides. Meanwhile, Perry reacted to the incident on social media.

“They welcomed me to Philly as one of their own, and that floor was slippery as heck and his wife fell on her face, and I laughed at her,” Perry wrote. “ Looks like I was just down underneath everybody slipping for the first minute. Told y’all, eventful.”

They welcomed me to Philly as one of their…

Tom Aspinall remains on the road to recovery after undergoing surgery on both eyes.

The medical team that performed the procedure shared an update on the UFC heavyweight champion’s condition on Tuesday via Instagram. Late last year, Aspinall revealed he would need to undergo surgery after being poked in both eyes by Ciryl Gane in their title bout at UFC 321.

Advertisement

“After his highly publicized eye poke injury, Optegra’s expert team is proud to have supported MMA fighter and UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall,” the post read. “Over recent months, we’ve been working closely with him on his recovery.

“Following his operation on both eyes we continue the journey to get Tom’s vision back to fighting fitness.”

Uncertain Timetable Aspinall has dealt with vision issues since UFC 321 and earlier this year shared that he was diagnosed with traumatic bilateral Brown’s syndrome, a condition which makes it difficult for an individual to move their eye freely in …

A feud between Fighting Nerds teammates Jean Silva (pictured) and Mauricio Ruffy recently became very public. | Getty UFC

After spending three weeks in Las Vegas helping Fighting Nerds members Jean Silva and Bruna Brasil in their UFC fights, Flavio Álvaro arrived in São Paulo on Monday and spoke to Sherdog.com about the conflict between Silva and Mauricio Ruffy.

A black belt in jiu-jitsu with over 60 Vale Tudo fights and one of the main figures responsible for grappling training on the team, Álvaro assures that he wasn't upset by Ruffy's statement saying that training with Volkanovski made him realize he knew nothing about grappling.

Advertisement

"Ruffy hadn't shown up for grappling training at The Fighting Nerds for a long time,” Alvaro said. “He always focused on striking with us, and you can see his excellence in that area. This change of scenery to Australia certainly motivated him to train grappling, and I think that's very positive. In fact, …

Max Holloway has top billing at UFC 326, but he's unlikely to make the CBS portion of the broadcast. | Getty/UFC

For a two-hour window, UFC 326 will be broadcast on both Paramount+ and CBS.

The network announced on Tuesday that CBS will air its first-ever UFC event on March 7, simulcasting the final hour of the event’s prelims from 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT to 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT and the first hour of the main card from 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT to 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. As usual, the entirety of the UFC 326 lineup will stream on Paramount+.

Advertisement

UFC 326 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and is headlined by a BMF championship clash between Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira. A co-main event has yet to be confirmed for the card after Brian Ortega withdrew from a proposed matchup against Renato Carneiro. As it currently stands, it appears that Rob Font vs. Raul Rosas Jr. and Gregory Rodrigues vs. Bruno Ferreira would be the main card fights to …

Demetrious Johnson can’t be lured out of retirement. 

Johnson’s former foe, Henry Cejudo, recently retired from the UFC following a loss to Payton Talbott in December 2025. Cejudo is now set to compete in a wrestling match against fellow UFC veteran Urijah Faber at RAF 6 on Feb. 28 in Tempe, Arizona. Cejudo was recently telling Johnson how excited he is about the offer, which also allegedly includes a lucrative payday. Cejudo also briefly tried to convince Johnson to complete their trilogy on the wrestling mats at RAF.

Advertisement

“I know, dude… I’m stoked. It’s good stuff, and they’re paying good money, DJ… A lot of people are calling you out,” Cejudo said. “This is the trilogy!”Resolute in Retirement However, Johnson was having none of it. “Mighty Mouse” is firm on his decision to stay retired from all sorts of competition.

“Don’t try to con me into this s—t,” Johnson replied. “I don’t wrestle, man. I’m retired and super busy. I’ve got my other stuff go…

There is currently a logjam of UFC welterweight title contenders. 

Kamaru Usman, Michael Morales, Ian Garry and Carlos Prates are all rallying for a title shot against Islam Makhachev. Garry recently played matchmaker for the contenders, suggesting different bookings for each other while reserving the title shot for himself. Garry proposed a matchup between Morales and Prates, while matching up Usman against the recently dethroned former champion, Jack Della Maddalena.

Advertisement

“Everybody has an opinion on who should fight whom in the welterweight division,” Garry said on Instagram. “Here’s mine: Carlos Prates vs. Michael Morales. Because it’s two power heavy hitters, and I want to see who comes out on top. I doubt Morales would take it, because the truth is, Carles Prates hits harder. I kind of want to see Prates vs. JDM too. But I’m gonna match Jack Della Maddalena vs. Kamaru Usman… And finally, the world title fight at welterweight. I want to see the…

Aljamain Sterling really enjoyed punching T.J. Dillashaw. 

Sterling defended his bantamweight title with a technical knockout win over Dillashaw in 2022. Sterling recently said that punching Dillashaw was the best moment of his career. While Sterling respects Dillashaw’s skillset, his dislike for the former bantamweight champion stems from his infamous drug testing failures. Sterling notes that Dillashaw’s former teammate turned foe, Cody Garbrandt, had long been accusing him of cheating. While Sterling had his doubts then, he is now free to speak his mind since Dillashaw has been caught cheating.

Advertisement

'He’s a Lying Cheat' “Best moment – probably punching T.J. Dillashaw… I just know he’s a cheat,” Sterling told Home of Fight. “He’s a lying cheat. ‘Oh no, I only got caught that time.’ Yeah, you only got caught that time. Your teammate outed you before you fought him. Don’t get me wrong, I like T.J. in terms of skillset, fun to watch, studied a lot of h…

Muhammad Mokaev hasn't fought in the UFC since 2024. | Getty/UFC

Muhammad Mokaev has seemingly been invited back to the UFC, but not to compete in MMA. 

Mokaev (15-0) recently won the under-65 kilogram title at the English Senior Wrestling Championships in freestyle wrestling. Mokaev claims he has now been offered to fight jiu-jitsu ace Mikey Musumeci for a UFC BJJ title.

Advertisement

“I have been offered to compete against Mikey Mussumeci for the UFC BJJ belt. What do you think guys?” Mokaev wrote on X.

I have been offered to compete against Mikey Mussumeci for the UFC BJJ belt

What do you think guys? 🙂

— Muhammad Mokaev (@muhammadmokaev) February 9, 2026 Staying Active Outside the UFC Despite being undefeated, Mokaev’s UFC contract was not renewed following a win over Manel Kape in 2024. While some alleged behavioral issues, Mokaev said it was due to his fighting style, which has often been criticized for…

Sean O'Malley thinks Petr Yan will do better to fight him instead of Merab Dvalishvili after the champion’s recent back surgery. 

Yan recently underwent a lumbar spine surgery and is expected to return this summer. While Yan said that it was a “minor” surgery, he needed nine hours of anaesthesia. Yan is expected to put his title on the line in a rematch against Dvalishvili upon his return. However, O’Malley advises Yan not to return soon from the surgery against Dvalishvili. O’Malley believes Yan could be compromised against Dvalishvili, who is known for relentless grappling. O’Malley wants Yan to fight him instead, as “Suga” is not exactly known for his wrestling.

Advertisement

'I Suck at Wrestling'   “I want Petr Yan next,” O’Malley said on YouTube. “I hate the idea of him coming off back surgery and fighting Merab… You’re gonna f—-ing fight Merab within a year after back surgery? It sounds like a f—-ing terrible mistake… I’m not gonna go out there and …

Lerone Murphy only has to watch his knockout win over Aaron Pico if he is feeling low.

Murphy welcomed Pico to the UFC in the co-main event at UFC 319 in August 2025 in Chicago. While Murphy was a slight underdog, he starched Pico with a spinning back elbow in the first round. Murphy recently revealed that the happiness from watching that knockout never fades for him. “The Iceman” wishes he had a way to keep track of the number of times he has watched that knockout. Murphy notes that the significance of the knockout was amplified by the timing, the precision, the high stakes, as well as the magnitude of the event.

Advertisement

High Magnitude KO “That was cold. I wish I had a counter to see how many times I actually watched that,” Murphy told the UFC. “I’ve watched that knockout a million times. I will watch that until I’m dead, until I’m old… The happiness I get from watching it never goes. I feel like if I’m down, I might as well just watch this and bring me bac…

Tofiq Musayev came up short in his UFC debut. | Getty/UFC

Former Rizin Fighting Federation lightweight tournament winner Tofiq Musayev will seek his first Octagon triumph when he faces Samuel Sanches at UFC Fight Night 272.

The bout was initially reported by Leo Guimaraes and later confirmed by MMAjunkie.com. UFC Fight Night 272 takes place on April 4 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. A headliner has not been announced for the event.

A Difficult Debut Musayev endured a rough promotional debut this past June, when he suffered a first-round submission loss to Myktybek Orolbai at UFC Baku in a 165-pound catchweight affair. Musayev notably won the Rizin lightweight grand prix in 2019, capturing the tournament crown with a victory over Patricky Freire at Rizin 20. That marked the conclusion of a 15-fight professional winning streak authored by the Azerbaijan native from 2015 to 2019. He has gone 3-3 since then.

The 23-year-old Sanches will be making his UFC deb…

Israel Adesanya nearly fought twice in 2025. | Getty/UFC

If the stars had aligned, Israel Adesanya would have returned to the Octagon a little sooner than expected.

The former middleweight champion will face Joe Pyfer in the UFC Seattle headliner on March 28 at Climate Pledge Arena. “The Last Stylebender” hasn’t been in action since suffering a second-round technical knockout defeat against Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Saudi Arabia last February.

Advertisement

On his YouTube channel, Adesanya revealed that he had been ready to accept a short-notice booking against Reinier de Ridder in October before an injury suffered in training removed him from consideration.

“I was going to fight last year, but then I got injured in the gym, and then that opportunity got taken away. It was a short-notice fight, as well. And I’ve never done one of those, so that would have been exciting,” Adesanya said.

De Ridder was scheduled to face fellow middleweight cont…

Alex Morono was spitting blood at Daniil Donchenko this past Saturday. | Getty/UFC

Alex Morono wants to exit the UFC on his own terms.

The 24-time Octagon veteran fought valiantly against “The Ultimate Fighter 33” winner Daniil Donchenko at UFC Fight Night 266 this past Saturday, making it to the final bell despite absorbing a tremendous amount of punishment over the course of three rounds. Donchenko won a clear-cut unanimous decision in the welterweight bout.

Advertisement

“If someone makes you bleed, spit it in their face and hit them as hard as you can,” Morono wrote on Instagram. “I got to make my 24th walk to the Octagon and, as always, had the time of my life. I always go in there to win, no matter what, no matter what it takes. They threw a young, hungry kickboxer my way and we got to throw down on the biggest stage in the world. Much respect to my opponent and his team. Despite the odds being stacked against me I was happy to accept the chal…

After a promising start, Jailton Almeida's run at heavyweight has fallen flat. | Getty/UFC

Jailton Almeida is done with the heavyweight experiment.

After consecutive losses against Rizvan Kuniev and Alexander Volkov, Almeida is planning to return to the light heavyweight division. The information was released by manager Leonardo Pateira during the Brazilian podcast "Connect Cast.” Sherdog subsequently contacted Pateira, who confirmed the information and added that UFC has already been informed of Almeida’s decision.   

Diminishing Returns “Maladinho” earned a UFC contract by winning a light heavyweight fight on Dana White's Contender Series in September 2021. He was successful in his Octagon debut at 205 pounds, finishing Danilo Marques in the opening stanza at UFC Fight Night 200 in February 2022. After one 220-pound catchweight victory, the Brazilian moved to the heavyweight division, where he has compiled a 5-3 record since 2023.

While Alme…

Two of the UFC’s most entertaining strikers might be on a collision course for a grappling match. 

Sharabutdin Magomedov recently claimed that he is in talks for a grappling match against Alex Pereira. “Shara Bullet’s” manager, Rizvan Magomedov also confirmed the same. Rizvan says that “Shara Bullet” is waiting for an event in the Middle East or somewhere else outside the U.S. for his next UFC fight since he is not licensed to fight in the U.S. In the meantime, Magomedov is keeping himself active by competing in grappling matches. Rizvan says negotiations are underway for a grappling match against Pereira.

Advertisement

Staying Busy “I think Shara is quietly transitioning from a striker to a wrestler,” Rizvan told Sport 24. “Meanwhile, regarding his fight, we’re waiting for a date ideally. An event in the Middle East or somewhere else. Since for obvious reasons he can’t compete in the United States. And he’s filling this free time with these kinds of matches.…

Pride Fighting Championships veteran Don Frye recently lauded the Caucasian style of wrestling, and its torchbearer, Khabib Nurmagomedov. 

Frye believes Nurmagomedov was unbeatable and could have continued winning if he hadn’t retired. Frye thinks Nurmagomedov was never inclined to return as he never faced adversity in his career. Nurmagomedov was the torchbearer of a style of wrestling that originated in Dagestan, Chechnya and other areas of the Caucasus mountains. Champions like Islam Makhachev, Khamzat Chimaev and other elite grapplers are taking over the sport with the same kind of grappling that is often criticized for not being entertaining. However, Frye believes that, fan-friendly or not, the Dagestani/Chechen style of wrestling is superior to every other style in the sport today.

Bulletproof “I think Khabib was everybody’s match,” Frye said in a recent interview. “Nobody can beat that guy. He’s bulletproof, 10-foot-tall, bulletproof. [His wrestling] is phen…