A clash of former UFC champions on the RAF mats didn't last long.
In the main event of RAF Moscow, former UFC middleweight champ Khamzat Chimaev took on former UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley. The event took place at Arena Mytishchi in Moscow, Russia – the first RAF show in the country. Chimaev and Woodley competed in a catchweight match at 195 pounds.
Chimaev jumped out to a 2-0 lead, and then got a body lock takedown on Woodley, pinning his back flat onto the canvas with 26 seconds remaining in the opening period.
Check out video of the pin in the video below:
Chimaev improves to 2-0 under the RAF banner, following a pinfall victory over Dillon Danis at RAF 10 in June. Woodley won his RAF debut against Joaquin Buckley at RAF 12 on Aug. 22, and now falls to .500 in the wrestling promotion.

#chimaev #khamzat

Real American Freestyle (RAF) returns TODAY (Sat., Sept. 5, 2026) with a special (yet controversial) card, streaming live from inside Arena Mytishchi in Moscow, Russia.
In the main event, former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight champion, Khamzat Chimaev, competes in his second RAF match against former UFC Welterweight champion, Tyron Woodley.
Russian wrestling legend, Abdulrashid Sadulaev, meets Zac Braunagel in the co-main event.
The card also includes Kyle Snyder vs. Akhmed Tazhudinov, Kyle Dake vs. Kadik and Kennedy Blades vs. Vusala Parfianovich. Jordan Burroughs and Bo Nickal are also on the card.
RAF Moscow kicks off at 9 a.m. ET and will stream … somewhere.

#moscow #Event #freestyle

Khamzat Chimaev is back on the RAF mats and he has a fellow former UFC champion in his sights as he takes on Tyron Woodley on Saturday in the RAF Moscow main event.
RAF Moscow goes down at VTB Arena, with Chimaev and Woodley headlining, and Russian Olympic wrestling champion Abdulrashid Sadulaev taking on Zac Braunagel in the co-main event.
This marks Chimaev's second RAF appearance following a pinfall win over Dillon Danis this past June, while Woodley is also coming off of an RAF victory over Joaquin Buckley, Woodley's first combat sports victory of any kind since 2018. Previously, Chimaev and Woodley held UFC ***** les at 185 pounds and 170 pounds, respectively.
Sadulaev won gold in freestyle wrestling at the 2016 and 2020 Olympics and made his RAF debut in July against fellow Olympic champion and Kyle Snyder. Snyder picked up another win in their legendary rivalry, defeating Sadulaev by pinfall at RAF Georgia.
Also competing Saturday are wrestling stars Jordan Burroughs, Kyle Dake, and Kennedy Blades, as well as UFC fighters Bo Nickal and Shara Magomedov, former two-division ONE Championship ***** leholder Anatoly Malykhin, and former Bellator standout Neiman Gracie.

#chimaev #Wrestling #olympic #kyle

CaioBorralho has weighed in on how the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight ***** le picture couldplay out.

"The Natural" is targeting a return for November or December afterrecovering from a rib injury that forced him out of his scheduledbout with Joe Pyfer atUFC330. Ahead of his return, he broke down the championship mix at185 pounds and how he believes it'll unfold.
Borralho has revealed that he is already back to full training andexpects to begin another fight camp in the coming weeks. Hebelieves he needs one or two more victories before challenging forthe championship.

"I think one or two more on the way to the belt," Borralho toldMMA Fighting. "I'm just waiting for the name.But we have Pyfer, we have BrendanAllen. Both of them I can fight. They can fight between two ofthem, or I can fight both of them. I think we're in the top of thedivision, so anyone that wins the next fight may be the one nextfor the ***** le shot."

Borralho is open to rebooking the Pyfer matchup, but he prefers ahigher-ranked contender. As for the current ***** le picture, theBrazilian doesn't believe former champ KhamzatChimaev deserves a ***** le shot as he's coming off a loss.Rather, he claims NassourdineImavov, the only man to beat him in the UFC, should be next fora shot at SeanStrickland's belt.

"I think Imavov deserves the ***** le next," Borralho added. "Healready has a history with Strickland, that he lost in a lightheavyweight fight, in a short-notice fight for Strickland and Ithink he did everything that he needed to deserve the ***** le shot,so I think he needs to be the one next."

#next

Mike Perry will not be fighting Dillon Danis this weekend in Orlando, Fla.
Perry made the announcement during Thursday's Duel Arena 1 pre-fight press conference. On 48-hours notice, former UFC fight Brandon Jenkins stepped in to face "Platinum" at Kia Center. The bout headlines the fight card.
"Let's not beat around the bush. This p*ssy ****** b*tch Dillon Danis didn't show the f*ck up," Perry said. "He's not here. He backed the f*ck out because he's a p*ssy.
"I want to give a shout out to my new opponent Brandon Jenkins. He's getting on a plane right now. He's flying here to weigh in the morning like a professional and fight me on Saturday night."
Danis pulling out of fights is nothing new. He last fought MMA in August 2025, defeating Warren Spencer at Misfits 22. He's had freestyle wresting matches in RAF against Colby Covington and Khamzat Chimaev earlier this year and is scheduled to face Arman Tsarukyan for the inaugural RAF Middleweight Crossover Championship in the main event on October 3, 2026 at RAF 14.

#jenkins #here #mike #orlando

The MMA personality best known for constantly talking but rarely fighting is out of yet another scheduled bout.
Mike Perry announced Thursday at his pre-fight press conference that Dillon Danis is out of their Saturday MMA fight at Duel Arena 1 inside the Kia Center in Orlando, Florida.
Perry said there was "no communication" from Danis, so instead the undefeated bare-knuckle sensation will face Brandon Jenkins, a former UFC competitor, in the MMA contest.
Depending on the source, Danis is either 2-0 or 3-0 as an MMA fighter, but he's spent most of his time talking about and trolling other fighters and losing grappling, wrestling and boxing matches.
He's lost his two most recent RAF matches to Khamzat Chimaev and Colby Covington, lost in boxing to Logan Paul in 2023, and lost four straight grappling matches from 2016-17. He last fought in MMA in 2019.

#matches #lost #grappling #thursday

Fans attending the latest Ultimate Fighting Championship event at Golden 1 Center inSacramento, California, were treated to an action-packed card.

The UFC Sacramento headliner featured a middleweight clash betweenAnthonyHernandez and GregoryRodrigues. The two delivered an entertaining fight, butRodrigues ultimately had his hand raised. In the co-main event,VitorPetrino defeated SergheiSpivac in a heavyweight bout. Although the co-feature did notlive up to expectations, the event produced 10 finishes in 13fights.
Let's examine what could be next for the main-card winners.
Thanks to sharper striking and punishing leg kicks, Rodrigues(20-6, 11-3 UFC) outstruck fellow former Legacy Fighting Alliance ****** leholder Hernandez (15-4, 1 NC; 9-4UFC) in the UFC Sacramento main event. Hernandez rallied in Rounds3 and 4, but "Robocop" did enough to earn a unanimous decision.Rodrigues has won seven of his past eight Octagon appearances.

The next logical step for Rodrigues could be a clash with NassourdineImavov. Both fighters consistently pursue finishes, making thisan appealing matchup. Although Imavov has called for a ****** le shot,he might have to wait with KhamzatChimaev and Dricus DuPlessis also pursuing the championship currently held bySeanStrickland. A victory over Imavov could move Rodrigues close tohis own shot at the middleweight crown.
In the heavyweight co-main event, Petrino (15-2, 8-2 UFC) grappledhis way to a unanimous decision over former World Warriors FightingChampionship ****** leholder Spivac (18-7, 9-7 UFC) in a lacklusteraffair. It was not Petrino's best performance, but the victoryextended his winning streak to four.

The Brazilian continues to climb the rankings in a heavyweightdivision badly in need of new contenders. A matchup with notedfinisher BrandoPericic, who is building momentum of his own, could offer aninteresting test. The pairing would give both men an opportunity toestablish themselves as emerging threats in the division.
Former two-division OneChampionship ****** leholder Reinierde Ridder (22-4, 5-2 UFC) made a successful UFC lightheavyweight debut by defeating RomanDolidze (15-6, 9-6 UFC). De Ridder capitalized on Dolidze'sdecision to pull guard early, overwhelming his opponent on thecanvas by continually advancing position and landing punches.

The end came 4:01 into the first round, when Dolidze could no longer intelligently defend himself as de Ridder poured onstrikes from back control. Although "The Dutch Knight"rebounded from consecutive defeats, the victory came against afellow middleweight competing outside his usual weight class.

To secure a spot in the light heavyweight rankings, de Riddershould next face an established 205-pounder such as BogdanGuskov. Although Guskov lost his most recent ****** ignment, heremains a dangerous opponent who could provide a meaningfultest.

#although

Jim West thinks UFC champion Sean Strickland presents a challenge that ***** ody else does at middleweight.
Anthony Hernandez (15-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) saw his eight-fight winning streak snapped by Strickland (31-7 MMA, 18-7 UFC) in February. Strickland went onto upset Khamzat Chimaev to claim the middleweight ***** le at UFC 328.
Hernandez's coach West says they approached Strickland's unique style incorrectly.
"Like in Anthony's case, obviously he had an eight-fight win streak, which is the longest in UFC middleweight history, and then he had a mishap," West told MMA Junkie Radio. "OK, well, you fought a unicorn. Sean Strickland is a unicorn, right? When you look at all the middleweights, he's the only one that's going to present that thing that he does, right? There's no one else like Sean Strickland, so you have to throw that aside.
"It's almost kind of an outlier. There's things that I think went into that fight where he might have been in his own head a little bit that we talked about with certain things as far as the approach, and we just got caught against the now-current UFC champ. He's one-of-a-kind. We got caught, we made some mistakes, we didn't approach the fight the way we were supposed to, and we lost. You have to move on."

#else

Darren Till's recent brawl outside of a pub in Liverpool was nothing but an attempt to sell wolf tickets for an eventual fight against Lee Browne.
The MMA (mixed martial arts) world has been seeing more and more wolf tickets sold, as Nick Diaz used to call them. Wolf tickets are the tickets people buy when they think a beef is real, but it's not. We saw it with Sean Strickland and Khamzat Chimaev. And now we're seeing it with Darren Till and Lee Browne, on a much smaller stage.
Till was caught on camera punching Browne outside a pub. But lest you think that was real animosity on display, here's Till talking about how he and Browne only did it to gas up a potential future fight under Till's Gorilla Promotions boxing organization.
"I said, 'Look, come to Gorilla. We'll cause a little bit of a fuss and stuff like that.'" Till tod Full Mount MMA. "So he caused a little bit of fuss inside. I said, 'Look, we'll have a little bit of back and forth inside and outside. We'll get it fired, and we'll build a name off that.' And he was all for it."
"I feel like what we've done inside of Gorilla, if you can see the videos from that, and outside of it, I give him a little slap or two, and I can't remember what he done fully in Gorilla, we were arguing inside, and he threw something. I think he threw a bottle of water, and it just nicked me. And outside, I gave him a little slap."

#till #we 'll #tickets

IanGarry says he had no intent of starting a feud with KhamzatChimaev.

Garry defeated BelalMuhammad last November, with ArmanTsarukyan finishing Dan Hooker inthe main event of the same card in Doha, Qatar. Chimaev, who was inTsarukyan's corner, then had an altercation with Garry backstage,which "The Future" recently revisited.
Garry shook hands with the entire team and also patted Chimaev onthe back. The latter then seemingly felt provoked and pushed Garrybefore security stepped in.

Garry recently shared his side of the story, claiming he had nomalicious intent when he was greeting Chimaev and his entire team.The Irishman also notes that Chimaev didn't immediately react whenhe patted him. Garry claims Chimaev was fired up only after peoplestepped in between them. He believes Chimaev would have gottenphysical when they were in proximity if he really wanted to.

"Me and Khamzat aren't boys," Garry told Full Send MMA. "When I goto a team and there's Arman Tsarukyan tying his shoelace, I saidcongrats to him, I said congrats to his other coach and congrats toone more. And I leave one guy out and I didn't see him. And I go,'Oh sh*t, sorry champ, how are you?' We were cool, we were fine atthat point. It was only when someone stepped in between us that itwas a problem. If he wanted to suplex me and put me on my skull, hewould have done it when I [leaned on him]. Go watch my bodylanguage again… In no way, shape, or form was it aggressive. It waspurely out of respect; there was no mal intent."

Chimaev (15-1) lost his middleweight **** le to SeanStrickland in a massive upset this past May. The Chechen-bornfighter is now rallying for a rematch against Strickland.Meanwhile, Garry (17-1) is scheduled to challenge IslamMakhachev (28-1) for the Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight **** le in the mainevent of UFC330 on Aug. 15 at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia.

#intent #team #recently

ArmanTsarukyan will return to compete on Real American Freestyleless than two weeks after his next Ultimate Fighting Championship bout.

The UFC lightweight is scheduled to face DillonDanis at RAF 14 on Oct. 3 at Fontainebleau in Las Vegas. Thewrestling promotion recently announced that the match will becontested for the RAF middleweight crossover championship. The newscomes less than one week after the UFC announced Tsarukyan (23-3)will face MauricioRuffy (14-2) at UFC331 on Sept. 19 in Los Angeles.
Tsarukyan has fought just once in 2024 and once in 2025, with hislatest victory in mixed martial arts coming against Dan Hooker inNovember last year. However, he's competed in 15 wrestling andsubmission grappling matches over the last two years, goingunbeaten in all but one. In his last wrestling match under the RAFbanner, he was outpointed by ColbyCovington.

He has collected victories over LancePalmer, Georgio Poullas, UrijahFaber, KeelonJimison, TonyFerguson and KuatKhamitov in RAF so far. His next outing will be against Danisin October at RAF 14 in Las Vegas. Danis will attempt to snap atwo-fight losing streak under the RAF banner. The jiu jitsuspecialist lost to Covington in March before falling to former UFCmiddleweight champion KhamzatChimaev in June.

Before returning to RAF, Tsarukyan will face Ruffy at UFC 331.Danis will also compete in MMA before meeting Tsarukyan, as he isbooked to face Mike Perryin the Duel Arena 1 main event on Aug. 29 in Orlando, Florida,looking to extend his record to 4-0.

#vegas #championship

MichaelOliveira has no intention of following the growing trend ofwelterweights moving up to middleweight.

Fresh off an impressive Ultimate Fighting Championship debut in Serbia, the unbeatenBrazilian told Sherdog he plans to spend the remainder of hiscareer competing at welterweight despite carrying significantlymore weight outside camp.
Oliveira, who improved to 10-0 and recorded his ninth knockoutvictory at UFC Belgrade, acknowledged that making the welterweight limitis demanding. However, he said the process is manageable with thehelp of nutrition and weight-cut specialist Rogerio Camoes.

"I think because I arrived late to the weigh-in, a lot of peopleassumed I had trouble making weight," Oliveira told Sherdog. "Theodds in my favor even dropped, but the truth is everything isplanned. I make 77 kilograms (170 pounds) without much difficulty,mainly because I work with Rogerio Camoes. He has worked withAndersonSilva, RonaldoSouza and RafaelCavalcante. He knows exactly what he's doing."

Although Oliveira entered the Octagon at just over 90 kilogramsafter making the welterweight non-title limit, he dismissed anysuggestion that he could eventually follow fighters such asKhamzatChimaev to middleweight.

"The plan is to stay at welterweight until the end of mycareer—another nine or 10 years—without any issues," Oliveirasaid.

The Brazilian also revealed that he is targeting a Novemberreturn.

"I'm planning to come back in November, but if the UFC calls, wewill be ready," the Dana White's Contender Series signee added.

#camoes #middleweight #told #without

Sean Strickland is almost ready.
It has been almost three months since the foul-mouthed Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight champion reclaimed the 185-pound **** le by defeating Khamzat Chimaev in a razor-close split decision at UFC 328 on Sat., May 9, 2026, inside Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
And apparently, fight fans have been bombarding Strickland with the same question:
When is he going to fight again?
Unfortunately, they are going to have to wait a little bit longer.

#middleweight

Former UFC champs head to the wrestling mats for an international headliner.
Real American Freestyle announced on Thursday that past UFC middleweight ***** leholder Khamzat Chimaev is set to make his second appearance with the promotion to face former welterweight champion Tyron Woodley in the main event of RAF Moscow. The event takes place Sept. 5 on streams exclusively on FOX Nation in the U.S., while other global broadcast details will be announced.
Chimaev had a successful RAF debut with a first-round pinfall win against Dillon Danis in the main event of RAF 10 in June. The match was heated as Danis appeared to attempt a choke on Chimaev after a takedown, and the aftermath led to an all-out brawl between the two teams. In a recent interview with RAF co-founder Chad Bronstein, he told MMA Fighting that Chimaev is expected to compete multiple times for the promotion before the year ends.
Woodley is already slated to compete at RAF 12 in August against Joaquin Buckley. "The Chosen One" seeks his first combat sports win in nearly eight years as he dropped his final four UFC bouts before heading over to the boxing world for a trio of fights — losing twice to Jake Paul, including a brutal knockout loss in their second meeting, and a TKO loss to Anderson Silva in his most recent contest this past December on the Paul vs. Joshua card.

#chimaev #Event #past #PROMOTION

NavajoStirling believes KhamzatChimaev is a one-dimensional fighter.

After Chimaev suffered the first loss of his professional career,the hype surrounding the former Ultimate Fighting Championship champion has dampened. Stirlingrecently called him a "one-trick pony" and wants Chimaev to move upto light heavyweight so they can fight.
While Stirling acknowledges that Chimaev would bring much attentionto the 205-pound division, the unbeaten Kiwi wants to expose how"Borz" isn't a well-rounded fighter.

"I think he's a bit of a one-trick pony," Stirling told Full SendMMA. "I would love to fight him. I want to test my theory againstsomeone like that. I would love for some bigger names to come tothe division that could bring some hype."

Chimaev was undefeated and a massive betting favorite going intohis first middleweight ***** le defense against SeanStrickland at UFC 328 this past May. However, he visibly gassed out after afailed takedown attempt in the second round and completelyabandoned his wrestling thereafter.

Strickland then out-landed Chimaev on the feet en route to amassive upset win via split decision. UFC CEO DanaWhite later claimed that Chimaev had discussed a move up tolight heavyweight in the immediate aftermath of his firstprofessional loss. However, he has since been repeatedly callingfor a rematch against Strickland.

Meanwhile, Stirling has racked up five UFC wins, with two finishes,since making his Octagon debut in 2024. He is now scheduled tofight JanBlachowicz on less than three weeks' notice at UFC Belgrade on Aug. 1 in Serbia.

#trick

Check out this week's "Spinning Back Clique," MMA Junkie's weekly live show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.
This week's panel of Brian "Goze" Garcia, Dan Tom and Danny Segura will join host "Gorgeous" George Garcia live at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate the following topics:
It wasn't the busiest week in MMA, but things still happened, and we're here to cover it. From Khamzat Chimaev's call for Sean Strickland to sign up for the rematch, to Umar Nurmagomedov's new fight at UFC Shanghai, we discuss the biggest headlines and go over the notable bookings of this past week.
Conor McGregor is finally back. After five long years, "The Notorious" returns to the cage in the main event of Saturday's UFC 329 in a rematch against Max Holloway. Who will win? Where could a win take McGregor's career? Could the Irishman be back in a **** le bout? For the bulk of the show, we discuss all things UFC 329, including McGregor's return vs. Holloway, and other key action from the card.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Spinning Back Clique: McGregor's comeback vs. Holloway at UFC 329

Ahead of Ian Garry'stitle fight against IslamMakhachev, DanielCormier has weighed in on the Irishman's mindset.

Garry is confident about beating Makhachev and recently predicted alate stoppage when they square off in the main event of UFC 330at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia on Aug. 15. Cormier opinedthat this approach could spell trouble for "The Future."
Cormier isn't a fan of Garry wanting to show off all his skills inevery aspect of MMA before finding a late finish. The UFC Hall ofFamer said on his YouTube channel:

"Sometimes, a person is misguided in their thoughts, and whenthey're misguided in their thoughts, they set themselves up for avery, very bad night or a bad result. I'm not saying Ian Garrycannot beat Islam Makhachev. What I'm saying is you've got to takethat as it comes. You can't try to say, 'I want to beat the No. 1pound-for-pound fighter in the world in a certain round because Idon't want it to be a fluke.' If you win, it does not matter howyou win."

The former two-division champion claims that it shouldn't matter toa fighter if others consider their victory a fluke. All thatmatters is the result, whether it comes in the opening round or thefifth. He then encouraged Garry to let go of pre-fightpredictions.

"I would encourage him to let go of the idea that you want to callyour shot, and you call your shot later in the fight so that peopledon't have an opinion of what happened. It doesn't matter whathappens if you beat the best fighter in the world across all weightclasses, pound-for-pound. It doesn't matter how you win. It onlymatters that you win. And if Ian Garry wins by a fast knockout, ifIan Garry wins by submission, or if Ian Garry wins by decision, itdoesn't matter."

Garry is a sizable betting underdog heading into the Makhachevfight. However, the last two men's championship bouts in theUltimate Fighting Championship have resulted in upsets, withSeanStrickland beating KhamzatChimaev at UFC 328and JustinGaethje defeating IliaTopuria at UFC Freedom 250.

IanGarry is drawing inspiration from SeanStrickland ahead of his maiden **** le bid in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Garry (17-1) believes he can pull off an upset and emergevictorious when he takes on welterweight champion IslamMakhachev (28-1) in the main event of UFC 330at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia on Aug. 15. The Irishman ishigh in confidence, especially considering the last two numberedevents ended in big upsets.
Garry questions those who aren't giving him a chance againstMakhachev and points to Strickland's win over the previouslyunbeaten KhamzatChimaev at UFC328.

"If people think when Sean Strickland goes out and beats KhamzatChimaev and upsets the apple cart, and no one expected, no one cansit here and think that it's impossible that I can beat IslamMakhachev," He told Paul Browne.

"The Future" added that he's a far more well-rounded fighter thanStrickland and that the combination of his skills and intelligencewill be challenging for Makhachev to handle.

"If anything, I'm a far more dangerous threat. I'm far morecomplete and I have way, way, way more ways of winning that fight.I am the most dangerous opponent for Islam Makhachev, and it's myjob to go out and prove that. My mindset, my vision, and my fightIQ… Three things that can't be taught. You either have them or youdon't."

Garry is coming off decision wins over former champion BelalMuhammad and Carlos Prates, while Makhachev won the welterweighttitle by beating JackDella Maddalena. Furthermore, while the former is motivated byrecent underdog victories, the latter is looking to surpassAndersonSilva by breaking the record for most consecutive UFC wins.

UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland believes a fight between him and Johnny Eblen is inevitable.
Strickland (31-7 MMA, 18-7 UFC) upset Khamzat Chimaev to become a two-time 185-pound champion at UFC 328 in May. He continuously touts one of his main training partners at Xtreme Couture, Eblen, as one of the best fighters in the world and expects their paths to cross some day.
Eblen (17-1) is currently a PFL fighter and will look to reclaim his belt after suffering a come-from-behind submission loss to Costello van Steenis at PFL Africa 1 last July.
"First session done with Johnny, this guy is a savage," Strickland said on his Instagram story (h/t Championship Rounds). "This guy is going to win the belt, he's going to the UFC, he's going to get one fight, and then we're going to fight for the belt. And I don't know who's going to f*cking win, but we're going to f*cking fight."
Eblen was slated to things back with van Steenis (18-3) in the main event of PFL Austin on July 18 at Moody Center in Austin, Texas, but he'll instead meet Impa Kasanganay for the interim **** le after van Steenis withdrew because of an injury.

Khamzat Chimaev made the walk to the octagon inside the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on May 9 as the undefeated middleweight champion of the world. He faced former training partner and former 185-pound ****** leholder Sean Strickland in the UFC 328 main event.
Chimaev entered his first ****** le defense as the betting favorite but left the cage with the first L on his record and without the middleweight belt. Strickland recaptured the championship via split decision. After the loss, "Borz" told UFC CEO Dana White that he would not fight at 185 pounds again and would be moving up to the light heavyweight division. He's since changed his mind.
Recently, Chimaev has been lobbying for an immediate rematch. In a social media post, he accused the champion of running from one.
"Accept the fight, don't run, I'll beat you anyway, The sooner this happens, the easier it will be to breathe SStricklandMMA," Chimaev wrote on X.
Strickland shut down talks of an immediate rematch backstage following the fight. If Chimaev wants a rematch, Strickland believes he should have to earn it.

Anthony Hernandez is training with Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champ Sean Strickland ahead of his headlining bout at UFC Fight Night 285. Hernandez will be looking to return to victorious ways after his win streak was snapped by Strickland in February 2026.

While Strickland went on to claim UFC gold in his next fight against Khamzat Chimaev, Hernandez is scheduled to lock horns with Gregory Rodrigues in Sacramento, California, in August.
Hernandez posted a photo on Instagram following his training session with Strickland. He captioned his post, “Thank you guys for welcoming me in. Appreciate the tips and tricks.”

Strickland then acknowledged the post with a comment, which read, “6 weeks of fun!”

Hernandez’s eight-fight win streak came to a screeching halt earlier this year in Houston, where he was finished in the third round via TKO. Despite the pre-fight tension between “Fluffy” and Strickland, they shared a wholesome moment after the bout, which seemingly paved the way for them to train together.

Currently ranked No. 6 in the UFC middleweight division, Hernandez will take on Rodrigues, who holds the No. 12 spot, next. Meanwhile, Strickland's first ***** le defense could come against Chimaev or Nassourdine Imavov, two middleweights he’s already beaten.

Dricus Du Plessis puts the blame on Kamaru Usman for their fight taking so long to materialize.
Former middleweight champion Du Plessis (23-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC) meets ex-welterweight champ Usman (21-4 MMA, 16-3 UFC) in the UFC Fight Night 281 main event on July 18 at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City (Paramount+). Rumors about the fight emerged months ago, but the matchup only became official during Saturday's UFC Fight Night 279 broadcast.
"He didn't want to sign the contract. I know that for a fact," Du Plessis said of Usman on Fight Forecast. "I spoke to the UFC and they said, 'We finally convinced him to sign.' If you need convincing to sign, that's a problem, but I can't blame him. I also wouldn't want to fight me right now. It would be the smart move not to sign the fight, but let's go."
Du Plessis will look to rebound from his lopsided ***** le-fight loss to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319. However, with Chimaev losing his belt to Sean Strickland, someone Du Plessis has beaten twice, the South African has new life in the ***** le picture.
He explains why Usman is the perfect opponent to get him there.

Dricus Du Plessis believes Kamaru Usman has made a huge mistake signing on the dotted line to fight him.
Their bout, which has been rumored for months but is finally official, will go down as the main event for UFC Fight Night Oklahoma City on July 18th. That’s not too long for us fans to wait, but “Stillknocks” hasn’t fought since his embarrassing loss to Khamzat Chimaev back in August 2025. He’s ready to go and discussed the newly announced fight on the Fight Forecast YouTube channel.
“You think you’ve been waiting. I’ve been waiting!” Du Plessis exclaimed. “We’ve been talking about the fight for a long time.”
“I was supposed to fight in April, got the injury,” he said. “Man, I think that was all for a reason because the fire in me to get back in there is like never before. I’m feeling great. Camp is going great.”
According to Du Plessis, the holdup was all on Usman’s side.

Former middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis returns to the octagon on July 18 in the UFC Fight Night 281 main event against former welterweight ****** leholder Kamaru Usman. It will be Du Plessis' first fight since losing the ****** le to Khamzat Chimaev last August.
Usman called for the fight months ago but it wasn't signed until now. Du Plessis, the No. 2 ranked contender in the division, justified facing Usman next instead of third-ranked Nassourdine Imavov.
"We've been talking about the fight a long time. He mentioned the fight way before we made the fight and I said, 'Well, cool. I'll take that fight.' Now people say, 'Why don't you fight Imavov?' I don't mind that fight either. I want to fight somebody that gets me to my ****** le again," Du Plessis. told Fight Forecast.
"Kamaru Usman, yes, he's a bit older, but now you look at what [Justin] Gaethje just did. I mean, so that throws that argument out the window immediately. Kamaru Usman is arguably the best welterweight ever, you know, alongside Georges St-Pierre if you go on ****** le defenses and all that. So, he started his career out at middleweight. He has a win over Sean Strickland. He had that very close fight with Khamzat Chimaev. And that's why I wanted this fight."
Du Plelssis wanted the stylistic matchup Usman brings to the table to show his grappling improvements. He didn't think Imavov would give him that opportunity.

The opening betting odds in a pivotal battle of former UFC champions favors one side in a big way.
During Saturday's UFC Vegas 119 broadcast, it was officially announced that former middleweight ****** le holder Dricus du Plessis is set to return in his first fight since losing the belt to Khamzat Chimaev, and faces past welterweight champion Kamaru Usman in the main event of UFC Oklahoma City. The card takes place July 18 at the Paycom Center, and streams exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S.
According to BetOnline, du Plessis opens as a heavy favorite at -350, with the comeback on Usman at +285.
Based on those odds, it would require a $350 wager to get back $100 on du Plessis while a $100 bet on Usman returns $285 if he's successful as the underdog.
Du Plessis had a solid run as champion, successfully defending the ****** le against Sean Strickland and Israel Adesanya. "Stillknocks" was dominated in a lopsided decision against Chimaev at August's UFC 319 event where he lost the belt.

Looks like Kamaru Usman signed the contract after all.
A middleweight main event between Usman and fellow former UFC champion, Dricus du Plessis, has been booked to headline UFC’s upcoming Fight Night card on July 18 from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The 185-pound headliner was announced during Saturday’s broadcast of UFC Vegas 119 (results HERE).
It’s unknown at this time if DDP vs Usman will be a No. 1 contender’s bout in the UFC’s middleweight division, but it would make a ton of sense.
Du Plessis, 32, is coming off a brutal ****** le loss to Khamzat Chimaev all the way back at UFC 319. “Stillknocks” has been waiting to make his awaited Octagon return, but it will almost be a full year since he last fought when he meets Usman next month. Still, DDP can punch his ticket to a trilogy fight with current UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland with a standout performance at UFC Oklahoma City.
Usman, on the other hand, hasn’t fought since June 2025 when he beat down Joaquin Buckley at UFC Atlanta. The 39-year-old former UFC welterweight champion is certainly in the final stretch of his Hall of Fame career, but Usman still has some gas left in the tank. “Nigerian Nightmare” will have to get past DDP first if he wants to push for one final ****** le shot. Usman did beat Strickland in a welterweight matchup all the way back in 2017 so the history is there.

Kamaru Usman is returning to the middleweight division and getting a chance to jump right into ******* le contention against a former champion.
Former welterweight ******* leholder Usman will face Dricus Du Plessis in the main event of UFC Fight Night 281 on July 18 at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, OK. The entire card streams on Paramount+.
The promotion announced the five-round headliner between Du Plessis (23-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC) and Usman (21-4 MMA, 16-3 UFC) on during Saturday's UFC Fight Night 279 broadcast.
Du Plessis, 32, returns to action for the first time since losing the 185-pound ******* le to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319 in August. It was the South African's first defeat inside the octagon, but with two victories over Sean Strickland, he remains one of the top contenders in the weight class and can put himself back in the discussion with a big victory.
Usman, 38, hasn't competed since June when he earned a unanimous decision victory over Joaquin Buckley. That result snapped a three-fight losing skid for "The Nigerian Nightmare," two of which came to Leon Edwards in 170-pound ******* le fights as well as a short-notice defeat to Chimaev at middleweight.

UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland is threatening to protest outside the White House with a bullhorn and his **** le belt. With just ten days until UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn, this is a major PR headache for Dana White.
The event already faces heavy criticism for its political timing, as it takes place on President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday. Critics are calling it a political rally rather than a sporting event. In this tense atmosphere, Strickland’s shocking snub has only amplified the controversy.
Meanwhile, the UFC boss is trying to cool things, mirroring his approach from right after the initial White House event announcement.
Strickland, who reclaimed the middleweight **** le with a split-decision upset over Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 328 last month as an underdog, revealed Wednesday he had been blacklisted from attending the major event.
He announced that high-level executives notified him he was not cleared to attend the June 14 event. In response, Strickland vowed to stage a “peaceful protest” outside the White House gates, armed with a bullhorn and his **** le belt.

Arman Tsarukyan had a front row seat to Khamzat Chimaev’s first career loss against Sean Strickland in May at UFC 328. With a role helping the now-former middleweight champion with his camp, Tsarukyan saw the struggles Chimaev endured.
Chimaev started his lone **** le defense in typical fashion, smothering and dominating Strickland with a heavy-pressure grappling **** ault. But his success in that department waned immediately; Chimaev dropped the subsequent round and battled competitively on the feet throughout the rest of the 25-minute affair. Ultimately, Strickland walked away as the winner via split decision, making him a UFC two-time **** leholder.
Tsarukyan spoke on “The Ariel Helwani Show” Monday, explaining that the 185-pound weight cut took a serious toll on his teammate.
"After first round, he got tired," Tsarukyan told Uncrowned. "Mostly because of weight cut. He could wrestle like 25 minutes nonstop [in camp], spar 25 minutes, but his body — after when he started cutting weight, that night he felt so bad, and in the morning he had no energy. We thought it was gonna be easy. But in the morning, four pounds left, his body didn't start, so we just pushed him to cut and make weight. It was so hard. Then he said, even to me, 'If I'm going to make this weight, I might lose.' I said, 'Bro, no, no. You're gonna recover and you're gonna be good.
"I wasn't worried [that he would make weight]. At one point, when he said, 'I cannot cut weight,' I thought, 'No way,' and we started to push him, and he could make the weight. I said, 'After weigh-ins, you're gonna feel good. So, if you're not gonna feel good, let me know.' But he didn't say anything."