"Robzilla" is extra motivated.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight Robert Valentin returns to action this weekend against hometown fighter Dusko Todorovic on the UFC Belgrade main card, which goes down Sat., Aug. 1, 2026, inside Belgrade Arena in Belgrade, Serbia.
And for the first time in a while, Valentin sounds like himself again.
It has been a brutal two years for the Swiss fighter, who entered UFC with plenty of eyeballs on him after a strong run on season 32 of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF). Unfortunately, his official Octagon career got off to a nightmare start.
Valentin was stopped by eventual TUF winner Ryan Loder in the finale (watch highlights). He then was one half of one of the most boring fights you will ever watch when Torrez Finney wrestled him for 15 minutes. After that, Valentin got crushed by super prospect Ateba Gautier in one minute at UFC 319 (watch highlights).

#valentin #fighter

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

Brendan Allen believes UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland is a bad matchup for Nassourdine Imavov.
Imavov (17-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC) said he's 100 percent confident that he's next in line for a ***** le shot against Strickland (31-7 MMA, 18-7 UFC). Imavov hasn't lost a bout since dropping a five-round decision to Strickland in January 2023 – a fight which Strickland took on short notice at light heavyweight.
Allen (27-7 MMA, 15-4 UFC), who also has a loss to Strickland, explained the difference between their short-notice fights.
"It was up at 205. I think Sean took it on Tuesday, but from what I understood from that one is Sean was out, he was chilling, that's why it was at 205," Allen told Submission Radio. "When I fought Sean, he had just fought two weeks before. So, he was still in really good shape. I was the one who didn't want to make '85 back to back. I didn't know how my body would recover, so that's why we fought at '95, but he was still in really good shape. But with Imavov, I heard he'd been out. He was recovering, not really training super a lot."
Despite the different circumstances that a rematch would take place in, Allen still sees Strickland getting the best of Imavov.

#strickland #allen #notice

Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Let's start the night off by taking a look back over the three biggest stories of Tuesday, July 28, 2026.
Former UFC ******* le challenger (and current ******* yst) arrested for alleged felony domestic violence, faces 20 years in prison: Anthony Smith seemed to be in a weird mental ******* e after his UFC retirement, but this is SHOCKING!
Reinier de Ridder 'never going back' to middleweight after UFC Sacramento — 'Dumbest s—t I've ever done': I can't help but think de Ridder's best chance at UFC gold was at Middleweight, but I cannot blame him for not wanting to suffer the misery and longterm affects of that drastic cut.
Sean Strickland details disturbing Russian Roulette incident: 'It still gives me chills': I'm genuinely happy Strickland is in a better mental ******* e nowadays.

#mental #midnight #mania

If you've ever wanted to listen to Sean Strickland speak for four hours, today is your lucky day. The UFC middleweight champion just sat down with Shawn Ryan and the two talked for over 240 minutes on a variety of different topics. That's over an hour longer than Christopher Nolan's Odyssey!
That film is based on Homer's epic poem and cover's Odysseus' 20 year journey from Ithica to Troy and back. But we have to say, 'complicated man' Sean Strickland's 35 year journey from abused child to two-time UFC champion may give The Odyssey a run for its money. There's too much to go into in one simple article, but the interview covers Sean's many mental issues, troubled youth, how he fell in with a neo-nazi gang in prison, and other really dark stuff.
"If I was drinking, I'd be dead or I'd be in prison," Strickland said. "That's what drinking does, it lowers your inhibition. And so now you're just like, 'Oh, I'm down to do anything.' I mean, I can't even own a revolver. I have one little .22 revolver that I don't f–k with because every time I pick it up, I can't stop thinking about killing myself."
"When I was younger, dude, I had this girl save my life," he added. "I had this .38, I'm just f–king spinning it. And I'm just talking to this girl named Jackie. [You] saved my life, Jackie, thank you. I'm spinning it. I put a round in it. I'm just talking to her and I'm hyperfixating on playing Russian roulette. Still to this day it gives me f–king chills."
"I was like, 'We should do it.' And she's like, 'Sean, no. Don't do it.' And I was like, 'No, what are the odds? Like, one in six? One in six. That's good odds. I'd take those odds.' Right? So I f–king put the gun to my head, and I'm sitting there … I'm working myself up to it. 'F–king do it. I'm f–king goona do it. You f–king ******* .' I'm having a conversation with her, I have every bit of adrenaline and dopamine just being f–king saturated in my brain right now and I f–king love it."

#like #sean #ODYSSEY

"For me this is very sentimental, it's about Wales, my people, my team and giving us all that one last little stab at something when it's a bit hard."
With two Commonwealth medals and an Olympic Games on the CV, Rosie Eccles would be forgiven for walking away from boxing after significant injury battles.
But this fighter doesn't do easy.
Having left the GB set up in March, Eccles is determined to complete her Commonwealth Games "trilogy" in Glasgow on a high as she targets a third medal.
The Caldicot light-middleweight, who turned 30 on the day she carried the Welsh flag at the opening ceremony in Glasgow, says she has "more fire than ever" as she aims to repeat her gold medal in Birmingham.

#medal #wales #march

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

SeanStrickland believes Bud Light mishandled the aftermath ofDustinPoirier's arrest.

Poirier was arrested at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta InternationalAirport on a charge of public drunkenness after he threatened tofight a police officer while intoxicated and even used a racialslur. He has since owned up to his mistake while accepting hisissues with alcoholism since his retirement, vowing to stay sobergoing forward.

However, Poirier (30-10) recently revealed that Bud Light canceledhis sponsorship due to the incident and Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight king Stricklandisn't on board with the decision.
While Strickland had initially mocked Poirier for blaming hisdepression, he has since expressed his heartfelt support for "TheDiamond." Strickland had even warned Bud Light against cancelingPoirier's sponsorship. The two-time champion recently lashed out atthe beverage company for the same.

Strickland (31-7) says Bud Light already betrayed America byprinting transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney's photo on theircans in 2023. He believes Poirier didn't deserve to lose hissponsorship for nothing more than an embarrassing drunk incident.Strickland says Bud Light should have instead extended their helpto Poirier to deal with his alcoholism.

"It made me so f*cking mad. Bud Light already f*cking betrayedAmerica with their f*cking tr--ny on a beer can," Strickland saidon the "Shawn Ryan Show." "How much of a piece of sh*t are you, BudLight? The moment something bad happens where you get a littleshame 'cause you got drunk on a plane and tried to fight a blackcop. Which is funny; it's not racist. You want to terminate hiscontract? They should have reached out to Dustin and said, 'HeyDustin man, you might have a problem with drinking. We're a beercompany, we sponsor you, can we help you?' That's not what theydid. They're gonna say, 'You used our product and you f*cked up.Get the f*ck lost, we don't want that bad image.'"

#poirier #even #used #alcoholism

With the IBF world light-middleweight ******* le in his possession, Josh Kelly feels "it's a different version of me" since he dethroned Bakhram Murtazaliev as he promised to "put on a show" in his maiden defence against Caoimhin Agyarko on Saturday.
Kelly had to bide his time for his opportunity, but the silky 32-year-old from Sunderland grabbed it with both hands with a majority points decision verdict against the Russian in January, improving to 18 wins with one defeat and one draw.
In some ways, 29-year-old Belfast challenger Agyarko has followed a similar path, enjoying big promotional backing in spells under the Queensberry and Matchroom banners, but was cut adrift by the latter following what was then a career-best win over Troy Williamson in 2023.
Both men will walk to the ring in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on the undercard of Anthony Joshua's heavyweight return against Kristian Prenga fully aware of how tough it has been to get to this stage.
Kelly, who had to rebuild from a 2021 defeat by David Avanesyan, has rattled off eight successful wins, culminating in his ******* le victory over Murtazaliev in Newcastle, dropping the champion in the fourth before coming through a late storm and surviving his own 11th-round trip to the canvas.

#year #wins #defeat #caoimhin

Hangin' em up?
Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight kingpin Kamaru Usman suffered a lopsided unanimous decision loss to former Middleweight roost-ruler Dricus du Plessis in the main event of UFC Oklahoma City last weekend (Sat., July 18, 2026) inside Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
While Usman had a strong fifth round, the former Welterweight champion was not very competitive with Du Plessis for most of the fight. He was rocked several times, struggled to close distance and was unable to consistently take the South African down to implement his wrestling game.
As it turns out, there may have been a pretty significant reason for that.
Usman was apparently compromised.

#plessis

Canelo Alvarez has suggested he will never box David Benavidez, saying “it’s not fair” that the Mexican-American fights in the weight classes he occupies.
Fans have long desired a showdown between Mexico’s Canelo, a former four-weight world champion, and Benavidez, a three-weight world champion, with many accusing Canelo of “ducking” the 29-year-old.
Canelo has held ***** les at super-welterweight, middleweight, super-middleweight, and even light-heavyweight, while Benavidez has held gold at super-middleweight, light-heavyweight and cruiserweight.
Benavidez was even the WBC mandatory challenger to Canelo at super-middleweight for more than two years, without obtaining a fight with the 36-year-old. Benavidez thus moved up to light-heavyweight and, most recently, cruiserweight, where he took the WBA and WBO belts from Gilberto Ramirez with a stoppage win in May.
But Canelo has said he does not care about suggestions that he has avoided Benavidez, telling journalist Ariel Helwani: “I’m not worried because I did everything. I did everything in boxing. I accomplished everything in boxing, and I have nothing to prove, but yes, I will miss boxing a lot [when I retire].

#super #middleweight #light #everything

Saul "Canelo" Alvarez has already had a professional boxing career spanning more than 20 years and 68 fights. On Wednesday, just days after he turned 36 years old, the Mexican superstar opened up about how much time he believes he still has left in the sport.
"Maybe three, four more fights for me there, because I have other goals out of boxing too," Alvarez revealed on Uncrowned's "The Ariel Helwani Show," while also announcing a rescheduled date of Oct. 31 for his WBC super middleweight ******* le challenge against Christian Mbilli in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Alvarez (63-3-2, 39 KOs), who has been earning eight-figure paydays for more than a decade, explained that money is no longer his principal motivation. At this stage in his career, "Canelo" continues to compete because he has a deep-rooted love for the sport.
"[Boxing] makes me feel alive," Alvarez said. "I was born for this. I really enjoy it. It's hard to adapt yourself again [and again to different opponents], and the training camps are very hard, but I love that, and I enjoy it a lot.
"I don't need anything. ... I did everything in boxing already, and I'm good [financially]. But I still love boxing. When I fight, I always break records, and that's the motivation for me. You need to do something in life. You need to keep your mind busy, motivated. Right now, my motivation is boxing."

#already

Canelo vs. “The Mexican Monster” is never happening.
Former WBA (Super), WBC, IBF, WBO and The Ring Super Middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez returns to action later this year for the first time since losing all of his ***** les to Terence Crawford.
Alvarez will face Christian Mbilli for the WBC Super Middleweight ***** le on Oct. 31, 2026 — not Sept. 12 — in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
But while in New York doing press for his upcoming boxing match, Alvarez was once again asked about the one fight that just will not go away:
David Benavidez.

#middleweight #monster #former #terence

Michael Page will move back up to middleweight at UFC Fight Night 287.
Page (25-3 MMA, 4-1 UFC) takes on Nursulton Ruziboev (37-9-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) on Sept. 5 at Accor Arena in Paris, France, promotion officials announced Wednesday morning.
Since suffering his first octagon loss to Joaquin Buckley in a welterweight bout in May 2014, Ruziboev returned to 185 pounds to notch three-straight wins. He is coming off a first-round submission of Andrey Pulyaev at UFC Fight Night 280 in June.
Page is also riding a three-fight win streak, with wins over Shara Magomedov, former ***** le challenger Jared Cannonier, and most recently a lackluster decision win over Sam Patterson in a welterweight bout at UFC Fight Night 270 in March.
Michael Page vs. Nursulton Ruziboev

UFC Oklahoma City has a late addition to the mix.
This Saturday, the UFC heads to Paycom Center in Oklahoma City with a middleweight main event between former champion Dricus du Plessis and former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. And on Tuesday, MMA Fighting confirmed that a late addition fight between undefeated prospects takes place on the undercard when Damien Anderson takes on Ezra Elliott in a featherweight contest. Marcel Dorff was first to report the news.
Anderson (5-0) is a 29-year-old fighter out of Texas, with all of his MMA wins coming via stoppage. Anderson spent most of his MMA career in Fury FC, but also has an extensive grappling background, even competing at a UFC Fight Pass Invitational in 2024. Most recently, Anderson submitted Hondo Gutierrez with a kneebar at CFFC 150.
Elliott (7-0) is a 26-year-old prospect hailing from Arizona, where he trains at the MMA Lab. All of Elliott’s career wins have also come by stoppage, including his most recent win over Ashtin Canigla at RUF 68 in May.
Aside from the main event, UFC Oklahoma City also features a middleweight co-main event between Jared Cannonier and Christian Leroy Duncan.

LAS VEGAS – Ryan Gandra met the media Saturday after his win over Zach Reese at UFC 329.
Gandra (10-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) picked up his second first-round win in the UFC when he took out Reese (10-4 MMA, 4-4 UFC) on the prelims at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The Brazilian needed just 75 seconds for the win.
Afterward, he said he'd love to fight former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, who recently announced he'll move away from his longtime training home at City Kickboxing for a fresh start after losses in five of his last six fights, and four straight.
"I'm not one to pick fights or choose opponents. It's beyond my wildest dreams to actually be a part of this and to be here. I'm happy to have the opportunities. But you talk about a dream fight, I've always had the dream of fighting Adesanya," Gandra said at his post-fight news conference. "(He's) someone I've dreamed of fighting my entire life, and I've wanted to have the opportunity to fight him. The dream is kept alive. That would be my dream fight."
Check out Gandra's post-fight interview in the video above.

After over a decade spent as a middleweight, Robert Whittaker made his light heavyweight debut at UFC 329, dominating Nikita Krylov en route to a third round TKO win. Could the fight have gone any better for “The Reaper?” Maybe if the commentary team hadn’t spent the whole fight taking about how he was too small and looked bloated for the division.
“The commentary called me fat!” Whittaker exclaimed on the Ariel Helwani Show. “Talking about my weight. Did I look that out of shape? I had abs the day before. I just had some salt. Salt bloat going on.”
While Whittaker was happy to joke about the commentary, he did admit that he had serious concerns about the decision to move up as camp for UFC 329 progressed.
“We already had a lot of nerves coming into this fight off back to back losses, as close as the last one was,” Whittaker said. “And then a middleweight moves up to light heavyweight, everyone’s seen how this story ends a thousand times. So there’s a lot of self imposed pressure on myself and nerves and whatnot.”
“Then seeing all the comments and reading about people saying, ‘Too small,’ etcetera, ‘Too short,’ blah blah blah. And, it was one of those moments, like, you just gotta kinda find the belief. I started to doubt. Listen to the circle that’s important to you. Listen to the the ones that matter. The ones that have the informed information. And, yeah, just keep working, I guess.”

Two world-title fights have been added to the undercard of Anthony Joshua’s next bout, as the British heavyweight faces Kristian Prenga on 25 July.
Joshua will take on Prenga in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in a warm-up fight for his long-awaited clash with Tyson Fury, which will take place at an as-yet-unknown date – potentially at Wembley Stadium in London.
Joshua, 36, will fight Albanian Prenga one night after Fury’s own warm-up bout, a contest with Mariusz Wach in Thailand.
And Joshua vs Prenga has solid support in the form of two world-title fights at the Jeddah Superdome, as Hamzah Sheeraz and Josh Kelly star on the undercard.
Sheeraz, 27, will defend the WBO super-middleweight ***** le against Simon Zachenhuber, having won the vacant belt in his most-recent outing – a second-round stoppage of Alem Begic in May, on the undercard of Oleksandr Usyk’s victory over Rico Verhoeven at the pyramids of Giza in Egypt.

LAS VEGAS – Robert Whittaker met the media Saturday after his win over Nikita Krylov at UFC 329.
Whittaker (27-9 MMA, 18-7 UFC) put away Krylov (31-12 MMA, 12-10 UFC) with a third-round TKO to close out the prelims at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Whittaker was making his UFC debut at light heavyweight after spending his entire tenure with the promotion heretofore at middleweight – including a stint as champion.
"Everything that could go right did go right. I can't express to you how good I feel," Whittaker said at his post-fight news conference. "There was a lot of nerves going into this. Who hasn't seen the story of a middleweight after two losses moving up to light heavyweight and then sliding into oblivion? I didn't want to be that guy."
Now there's no chance of that. And in fact, at light heavyweight, things are in enough of a perpetual state of craziness the past few years in the UFC that anything's possible.
The 35-year-old Whittaker, who snapped a two-fight skid, can't even rule out the possibility he's smack dab in ****** le contention at 205 pounds after the win over Krylov.

Robert Whittaker made a successful light heavyweight debut and he might go home with Nikita Krylov’s jaw as a reward after his knockout win at UFC 329.
Despite giving up a lot of size, Whittaker’s speed was undeniable and his power translated as he hurt Krylov several times during the fight. The end came after Whittaker clipped Krylov wih a stiff right hand and then followed with another huge shot behind it.
Krylov immediately grabbed at his jaw like something was broken and waved off the fight as the referee stepped in to stop if at 1:01 in the third round.
“Feast your eyes on that Reddit!” Whittaker joked after his win. “Honestly, there was a lot of nerves and we’ve seen guys move up and slide down … but we’ve still got it. I trained for the entire camp with the idea that my opponent is going to be the boogeyman.
“I came in nice and heavy and I hit as hard as anybody else. This is my home now. The middleweight page is closed.”

This is the UFC 329 live blog for Robert Whittaker vs. Nikita Krylov, the preliminary card light heavyweight bout Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Whittaker is currently ranked No. 12 at 185 pounds in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings, but makes his 205-pound debut against No. 14-ranked light heavyweight Krylov.
It’s been a rough stretch for Whittaker (26-9), a former UFC middleweight champion. Whittaker has lost his past two fights, pushing him out of the contender circle, and looks for a fresh start at weight class two divisions higher than 170 pounds, which Whittaker made his UFC debut at almost 14 years ago. “The Reaper’s” most recent wins have come against Ikram Aliskerov, Paulo Costa, and Marvin Vettori.
Krylov (31-11) has proven to be a stalwart at light heavyweight, with a 9-7 UFC record in the division and a number usually next to his name. This past January, he snapped a two-fight skid with a third-round knockout of Modestas Bukauskas at UFC 324.
Check out the UFC 329 live blog for Robert Whittaker vs. Nikita Krylov below.

Damian Pinas vs. Cesar Almeida squared off earlier tonight (Sat., July 11, 2026) at UFC 329 LIVE on Paramount+ from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. In an incredible knockout, Pinas stopped his opponent with a single right hand late in the first.
Outside of one brief wrestling exchange off a caught kick, this was entirely a kickboxing match in small gloves. Theoretically, this would favor Almeida, the veteran with more than 50 professional kickboxing matches. In reality, it was competitive the entire time. Almeida was a little slicker with his movement and setups, but Pinas hammered the lead leg and was coming very close with his nuclear right hand early in the fight.
In the closing seconds of the first round, he found the mark, planting his right directly on the chin to counter an inside low kick. “The Baba Yaga” tried to score the walk-off KO, but the referee forced him to throw one more strike before intervening.
Check out the video highlights below:
Wow … Pinas has incredible power. It’s still very early in his professional and UFC career, and there are still a lot of unknowns about his overall game, but can anyone deny that kind of one-hitter quitter power? He just smoked a world-class kickboxer at his own game, proving himself as a serious Middleweight prospect.

UFC 329 takes place Saturday, and you can join us for live round-by-round coverage and official results from the preliminary card beginning at 5 p.m. ET (2 p.m. PT).
UFC 329 (Paramount+) takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Key fights on the prelims include former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker taking on Nikita Krylov, as well as the highly anticipate UFC debut of former Olympic gold champion wrestler Gable Steveson against Elisha Ellison.
Follow along with our round-by-round updates and official results beginning at 5 p.m. ET for the preliminary card on the Paramount+ streaming platform.
Nikita Krylov vs. Robert Whittaker

LAS VEGAS – Conor McGregor doesn't always attend fight week fighter meetings with the UFC broadcast team.
Ahead of UFC 329, however, McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) elected to make an appearance. Perhaps the most central figure in those meetings is UFC play-by-play commentator Jon Anik, who has long preached that a lot can be taken not only from what the fighters say but how they present themselves.
Anik spoke to both McGregor and opponent Max Holloway (27-9 MMA, 23-9 UFC) days prior to Saturday's event at T-Mobile and peeled back the curtain on his takeaways as he spoke with MMA Junkie and other reporters on the UFC Hall of Fame red carpet Thursday.
"A lot of you guys know Max Holloway told me in 2021 that he wanted to take a fight at middleweight before all was said and done," Anik said. "Not only am I not surprised to see him at 170, I'm not surprised that he looks very good as a welterweight. If you saw the picture of him with Robert Whittaker, they look like they're the same size. We don't always get a fighter meeting with Conor McGregor. We had a fighter meeting with Conor, and I asked him, 'Why are you back?' He's back to prove his love of the game.
"When you have financial freedom like he does, when your Bank of America or Bank of Ireland checking account is that robust, you don't willingly sign up to get punched in the face by Max Holloway unless you're trying to bolster your MMA legacy and prove your love of the game. I couldn't have been more impressed by Conor in our fighting meeting. I know people are more concerned with actions than words. But if the words are a tell, lean into them. Because he was great."

Ultimate Fighting Championship great Alex Pereira is the type of guy to give someone else a present on his birthday.

Two weeks before her ******* le defense at Karate Combat 62—scheduled for July 24 in Miami against Juliana Velasquez—Aline Pereira was surprised by her brother, “Poatan,” with one of the biggest gifts she has ever received. On his birthday of July 7, per sources close to the situation, the current UFC heavyweight gave his younger sister a house in Connecticut, near their training camp of Teixeira MMA & Fitness.
On a since-deleted Instagram Stories post, the Karate Combat champ wrote, “There are gifts that change a life. Today, you gave me one of them. Thank you, little brother, for so much love and generosity. May God repay you twofold for everything you do for me. Happy birthday! I love you.”

The 35-year-old flyweight has bounced back and forth between kickboxing, Karate Combat and MMA since debuting in the LFA in 2022. Her most recent appearance in any combat sport came in May when she took home a decision over Jade Masson-Wong at the inaugural MVP MMA event. That put her on the first win streak of her career, although all of her professional outings in MMA have heard the final bell.

As a Karate Combat participant, she first appeared in 2024 to knock fellow MMA expat Dee Begley out in the opening frame. She went on to stop Amanda Torres early the next year, and in July 2025, captured its first ******* le by earning a decision over Fani Peloumpi. This bout on July 24 at Karate Combat 62 is to be the first defense of her 125-pound throne, and she will be facing another ex-MMA fighter in Velasquez.

“Poatan” lost in his last UFC outing, appearing at the UFC White House event in June and succumbing to strikes from Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight belt. The former middleweight and light heavyweight ******* list attempted to become the first three-division champion in company history, and since his defeat, has suggested he plans on remaining at the highest weight category for at least one more match.

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight king Israel Adesanya is going in a new direction.

Posting a video on his personal YouTube channel on Thursday ****** led “I’m Leaving CKB,” Adesanya explained that he was doing just that: departing the confines of Auckland, New Zealand-based camp City Kickboxing. The 36-year-old ex-kickboxer has fallen on hard times as of late, dropping four straight, although two of his last four outings were for his old middleweight ****** le.

The split came effective May 20, per “The Last Stylebender,” who does so a little under two months after losing to Joe Pyfer by knockout in the UFC Seattle headliner. Per the fighter, he needed a fresh start, and most importantly, personalized training instead of being in a room full of top-ranked athletes who all vie for attention from the coaches. Adesanya claimed it had been brewing for a while, and that he still mourns the absence of the team as a main part of his life.
Adesanya stated, “So [Wednesday, May 20], I spoke to [head coach] Eugene [Bareman] face-to-face, and I told him I am not coming back to CKB,” Adesanya opened with in his video. “This was something a long time coming behind the scenes, and we have an understanding. I won’t lie; it sucks.”

He continued, “Grief comes in waves for me. For most people, I’ve grieved before, so this, it comes in waves. I’ve had great days, but also there’s days where I’m like [exasperated sigh]. And it’s a long time coming, I just want to get it out [of] the way because I want you to hear from the horse’s mouth because no one else has spoken about it. I guess those who know are waiting for the ball to drop, so [motions a ball dropping] I dropped the ball.”

The former champion was simultaneous gracious for those that helped him grow over the years and crestfallen that it was the end of an era.

“It’s bittersweet,” he admitted, “but it’s the right thing for me. Especially where I am at in my career, it’s exactly what I needed. Insanity is doing the same s--t and expecting different results, so…I think that’s it, I just don’t want to talk about it. It’s something like I said that sucks, I want to grieve in peace.”

Having a bit more to get out after all, the Nigerian-born athlete carried on, saying, “[If] people want to bring it up, that’s cool, don’t ask me about it…2009 is when I first went to CKB, 2010 is when I moved over, and I established myself in Auckland to train at CKB. CKB made me into the fighter that I am today. They’ve trained a lot of great fighters. Greats, even better than myself, but me as an individual, CKB made me into the fighter that I am today. But also, I was one of the main pillars who put CKB on the map on the world stage. To take it to the next level, where people from all over the world want to come train at CKB, and I’m proud of that.”

The former Glory kickboxing ****** le challenger thanked a number of people who helped him over the years, not limited to coach Bareman and fellow

With Conor McGregor's octagon return just days away, fighters, ***** ysts and fans are getting their predictions in. Former middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis is the latest to weigh in on the Irishman's rematch against Max Holloway in the UFC 329 main event.
"How exciting. Whether you are a fan of Conor, a fan of Max, if you dislike Conor, dislike Max, just having the Mac back is amazing. I think the whole world is talking about it," Du Plessis told Fight Forecast.
"It's been so long coming and I think there was a stage where even I thought I don't think it's ever going to happen again. He always said he would and, you know, he had to go through something in his life and, you know, fix his lifestyle and he seems to have done that."
"Stillknocks" is admittedly a fan of both McGregor and Holloway but he predicted the Irishman will get his hand raised inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday.
"I'm going with the Mac. I'm never going against him. I'm never going against Conor," Du Plessis said. "Max Holloway, massive fan. Love him. He's a great fighter and he's deserving of everything he's gotten and al the praise. But I can't go against Conor."

LAS VEGAS – Robert Whittaker is done fighting at 185 pounds.
The former UFC middleweight champion confirmed that his days in the weight class that made him a name in MMA are over, and his light heavyweight move at Saturday's UFC 329 is no trial, but a permanent decision in his career. Whittaker (26-9 MMA, 17-7 UFC), who held the UFC ***** le at 185 pounds from 2017 to 2019, is making his light heavyweight debut against Nikita Krylov (31-11 MMA, 12-9 UFC) in the preliminary card of UFC 329, which takes place at the T-Mobile Arena.
So far, Whittaker enjoyed fight week a weight above and is excited to continue down this path.
"The middleweight Robert Whittaker, the chapter has closed," Whittaker said at Wednesday's UFC 329 media day. "I'm very happy as a light heavyweight. It is honestly life-changing. I recommend it to anybody.
"... It's a new chapter, a new page. I'm looking to test the waters with Nikita, tough guy. I look to have some fun."

Dricus Du Plessis can't wait to see Conor McGregor back at UFC 329.
McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) returns to rematch Max Holloway (27-9 MMA, 23-9 UFC) in Saturday's welterweight main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (Paramount+). Du Plessis, the former UFC middleweight champion, admits he is a big fan of McGregor but became skeptical at one point that he'd never fight again.
"Conor started coming up when I was just starting out my pro career; his UFC run started," Du Plessis said on Fight Forecast. "So, he was a guy that I genuinely looked up to as I progressed in the sport. Max Holloway, he's also definitely a Hall of Famer, never has a boring fight, absolutely incredible. He had a tough run with Charles Oliveira in his last fight, but him and Conor is not going to look like that.
"And interesting to see him at 170. Max, he can do that. He's tall enough, but very interesting to see how Conor comes back. But there's one thing about Conor: It's always like there is no pressure for him. He shows up, and he does what he does. Physically, he looks good, but you're going up against Max Holloway. That is a very tall order. ... Imagine this: Imagine Conor beating Max Holloway and getting that ***** le shot."
More: What happened in first Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway fight years ago?

Packed with nine prelims, the UFC 329 undercard has its own fair amount of intrigue.

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champion Robert Whittaker had one of the most successful moves up in weight class of all time, so it makes sense he'd try that trick again, as he's now up at light heavyweight against Nikita Krylov in the featured spot. Right below that, former Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson makes his UFC debut; he gets a layup of a matchup and is still quite raw, but provides some much-needed fresh blood at heavyweight. Past that is a solid mix of well-matched action, even if there's not clearly much in the way of immediate stakes; Adrian Yanez should make for a fun matchup against former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt, and a flyweight bout between Tracy Cortez and Cong ******* could put the winner in position for a big fight with a strong performance.

Light Heavyweights
Odds: Whittaker (-148), Krylov (+124)
Whittaker's move up to middleweight paid off more than anyone could've imagined, so it's understandable that he'd want to try things up at light heavyweight, even if it might not work at this point in his career. Australia's "Reaper" won the one-off “TUF: Smashes” season that pitted Australia against England, and he kicked off his UFC career as a fairly anonymous welterweight, splitting his first four fights before an eventual move up to 185 pounds in 2014. It immediately became apparent that Whittaker made the right move; his boxing popped more than ever with his newfound speed advantage, and his increased cardio made him an absolute terror in terms of overwhelming his opponents -- if he didn't simply just knock them out in short order. Years 2015 and 2016 saw Whittaker begin to stand out as one of the UFC's first stars in the Oceanic region, and a breakthrough win in 2017 over Ronaldo Souza made it apparent that Whittaker could be champion sooner rather than later; that fight saw him break out a high-level wrestling game for the first time, essentially leaving him as a fighter with no clear weaknesses, even at a high level.

Whittaker was indeed clearly the best 185-pound fighter in the world within a year, but he never got the true coronation he deserved, owing to a streak of bad luck. Whittaker won an interim ******* le over Yoel Romero, but never wound up getting a unification bout; Georges St-Pierre came out of retirement to beat champion Michael Bisping and eventually retired rather than face Whittaker, who was simply named the now-undisputed champ. Whittaker also never got his big return home as a conquering hero; cards in Australia were built around Whittaker ******* le defenses against Luke Rockhold and Kelvin Gastelum, only for Whittaker to pull out due to injury before each fight, including a career-threatening hernia hours before the Gastelum bout. By the time Whittaker got his first ******* le defense on Australian soil, it came against New Zealand's Israel Adesanya, who had clearly stole