#mma

#mma

All told, the sport came through on five of the 12 matchups I asked for in 2025. Candidly, we missed a few of the bigger ones. My top two hopes were Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall and Jones or Aspinall vs. Alex Pereira. None of those options were booked. Instead of a Jones-Aspinall heavyweight title unification bout, we got a secondhand Jones retirement announcement from Dana White in Baku, Azerbaijan, which still feels strange to think back on.

"A lot of people have no clue," Artur told Red Corner MMA. "They think we were born in a golden cradle... We could also tell a lot of things about the way we used to live. But why? I think all of us went through this stage of our lives when we were younger. We didn't even have wrestling shoes. Like at all. We lived in the countryside back then, in a sort of a 'ghetto'. So when we would go into city and see wrestlers with Asics shoes, it had a 'wow' effect on us."

Almost one year ago to the date of his upcoming Oktagon 81 fight, Jonas Magard stepped into the cage with UFC-veteran Igor Severino in a bout that would put the winner in prime position to attack the title. After a back-and-forth affair, two of the three judges found the bout in favor of Severino. With a year to think about it and having been able to watch it back, Magard's feelings on the fight are unchanged.

On Saturday, the inaugural PFL Africa season would come to a close, with the Professional Fighters League crowning four regional tournament champions. Bantamweight, featherweight, welterweight, and heavyweight tournaments were wrapping up, with 135lb'ers Nkosi Ndebele and Boule Godogo headlining the event, which saw the promotion making its debut in the nation of Benin, its third African country visited following South Africa and Rwanda.

Green opened the fight in his usual relaxed posture, hands low and confident. Gibson didn't rush with his boxing early, instead targeting the legs with kicks. He tried to go upstairs once, but Green barely raised his guard in time to deflect it. Green showed little respect for Gibson, taunting him with his stance and constant chatter. To Gibson's credit, he threw plenty of kicks, but few had real impact. Whenever Gibson committed with his hands, Green was slipping cleanly and firing back.

"That was the game plan - pick this motherfucker apart and tag them up. Make them bleed, get them frustrated and then find the finish in the second round," he said. "But I just had this feeling in my heart and I was like if I go in there and just push the pace, hit him quick and hard to let them know, like, 'Hey, big man, you haven't been hit like this before yet', and just show them what's up."

That is not to say that young, emerging fighters are guaranteed a continual rise. The Nos. 1 and 2 fighters in the 2024 rankings made our list again this year, but they're well down the list. The expansion of our list to age 30 also allowed for the inclusion of a reigning UFC champion, a former titlist, a PFL champ and several who have competed for a belt.

For Francischinelli, it's more than a championship opportunity, it's a chance to cement himself as one of LFA's next breakout stars on a stage built for future UFC talent. And the first thing anyone notices about the Brazilian striker is his sheer physical presence; standing an incredible 6-foot-6 at 170 pounds, it's no surprise he's viewed as one of the promotion's most intriguing prospects.

I feel very different because before I (fought) at strawweight, I dead long time,

MMA on a Monday? Japan's RIZIN Fighting Federation mixed things up a little, coming out of the weekend with a Monday card in Kobe, RIZIN Landmark 12. Of course for western fight fans, that was a late Sunday night start time, for a card that featured Kyohei Hagiwara vs. Kyoma Akimoto in the main event, and a women's atomweight title fight in the co-headliner. The card also featured appearances by Canadian flyweight standout Tony Laramie, and South Korean Road to UFC alum Ki Won Bin.

Allen told media outlets including Cageside Press following UFC Vancouver, referring to RDR's rematch with Anatoly Malykhin in March of last year. "He did the same thing, I think third or fourth round, same thing." "25 minutes is a very, very long time to take punishment. And I didn't think he'd be able to do it. He took a round longer than I thought, but I also didn't start off too hot in the first. So three rounds of dominance."

I didn't have much opposition for Paris, but to be honest, it was too close and too early after my defeat. I needed more time to refocus on me. It's really good for me to fight now.

Suman Mokhtarian, founder of Australian Top Team and a former UFC athlete and Ultimate Fighter veteran, has been slain in what is being called a gangland hit. Mokhtarian, who survived a previous assassination attempt, was killed on Wednesday while walking in the Riverstone district of Sydney, Australia. The Daily Telegraph was first to report the "brazen" shooting, which saw emergency responders attending the scene where Mokhtarian was found at about 6PM local time.

In other words, Rutten had scripted lines, but was playing a younger version of himself. Mind you, director Benny Safdie didn't require Rutten to stick to the script. Rather, he gave the retired fighter a massive amount of leeway to make the role his own. So while Rutten did get a script and lines, he told Cageside Press recently, "those are just for your guidelines," the director informed him. "I want you to do what you do, because it's you! Why would I change it?"

A24 and director Benny Safdie have launched The Smashing Machine 2000 Arcade Pop-Up in SoHo, a two-day event tied to the upcoming release of the new film The Smashing Machine, starring Dwayne The Rock Johnson as legendary fighter Mark Kerr. The pop-up runs Oct. 23 from 1 to 9 p.m. at 305 Canal Street, and fans must show their movie ticket for entry.

DANIEL CORMIER IS DISGUSTED. He's sitting at a table in a high-back chair, and he begins to aggressively slide his chair around so he can really get up close and personal about the disdain he's feeling right now. "That's my boy," Cormier says as his chair grates against the cement. "Don't you talk s--- about Steven Seagal. Don't you do it."

He's 1-0 in LFA, but his biggest accomplishments came in Jungle Fight, where he captured both the middleweight and light heavyweight titles. On paper, that kind of success in two thin divisions should be promising-especially for a UFC roster that needs depth. Unfortunately, Costa doesn't project as much of a threat at the next level. He's a pressure fighter who comes forward looking for the finish, but his approach is raw.

RIZIN Fighting Federation returned to action on Sunday with the massive RIZIN 51 card in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Two title fights, the heavyweight world grand prix final, and the second round of the flyweight grand prix made RIZIN 51 must-see TV for fight fans (and if we're being honest, vastly superior on paper to UFC Perth, which preceded it).