UFC News
Belal Muhammad serving as backup fighter for UFC 296 main event: “I think obviously they know Colby and Leon are the two most inactive welterweights in the division"
Fernando Quiles Jr. - December 10, 2023
Belal Muhammad will be an emergency backup in the event that something goes awry with the planned UFC 296 headliner. The scheduled main event for UFC 296 is a UFC Welterweight Championship fight between titleholder Leon Edwards and Colby Covington. It certainly isn’t unusual for the UFC to have backup fighters for title bouts. In this case, however, Muhammad believes he’s been chosen because the UFC doesn’t trust Edwards or Covington to make it to fight night.
Khalil Rountree explains why fighting UFC champion Alex Pereira would make sense: "You have two explosive, dynamic fighters"
Fernando Quiles Jr. - December 10, 2023
Khalil Rountree isn’t pounding the table to fight UFC lightweight champion Alex Pereira this second, but he does believe the fight would have some juice to it. Rountree has been rolling inside the Octagon as of late. He recently extended his winning streak to five by stopping Anthony Smith via TKO in the third round. “The War Horse” earned his second “Performance of the Night” bonus as a result of his handiwork at UFC Vegas 83.
Islam Makhachev dismisses rematches with Charles Oliveira & Arman Tsarukyan: "If you want to be a champion in a good way, you have to add new names"
Fernando Quiles Jr. - December 10, 2023
UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev isn’t a fan of rematches. Makhachev was scheduled to have a second bout with Charles Oliveira at UFC 294 back in October. Oliveira was forced to pull out due to a nasty gash he suffered while sparring. As a result, Makhachev took another rematch, but with UFC featherweight champion Alex Volkanovski. It was a sensational showing for Makhachev, as he scored a first-round head kick for knockout win.
Song Yadong fires back at Petr Yan following UFC Vegas 83 win: "His last fight was boring, too"
Fernando Quiles Jr. - December 10, 2023
Song Yadong is having none of Petr Yan’s emojis. Yadong took center stage in the main event of UFC Vegas 83 on December 9. He shared the Octagon with Chris Gutierrez inside the UFC Apex. Yadong was able to take a unanimous decision victory after the fight went all five rounds.
Pros react after Khalil Roundtree Jr. TKO's Anthony Smith at UFC Vegas 83
Chris Taylor - December 9, 2023
Tonight’s UFC Vegas 83 event was co-headlined by a light heavyweight bout featuring Anthony Smith taking on Khalil Rountree Jr. Smith (37-19 MMA) was returning to action for the first time since earning a split decision win over Ryan Spann at August’s UFC Singapore event. That victory had snapped a two-fight losing skid for ‘Lionheart’, as the 35-year-old veteran had previously suffered setbacks to Johnny Walker and Magomed Ankalaev respectively.
UFC Vegas 83 Results: Khalil Roundtree Jr. stops Anthony Smith (Video)
Chris Taylor - December 9, 2023
We have you covered for all of tonight’s UFC Vegas 83 results, including the co-main event between Anthony Smith and Khalil Roundtree Jr. Smith (37-18 MMA) was last seen in action at August’s UFC Singapore event, where he earned a split decision win over Ryan Spann. That victory snapped a two-fight losing skid for ‘Lionheart’, as the 35-year-old veteran had previously suffered setbacks to Johnny Walker and Magomed Ankalaev.
UFC Vegas 83: 'Song vs. Gutiérrez' Live Results and Highlights
Chris Taylor - December 9, 2023
The Octagon returns to Nevada for tonight’s UFC Vegas 83 event, an eleven-bout fight card headlined by Song Yadong vs. Chris Gutiérrez. Yadong (20-7-1 MMA) will be returning to action for the first time since scoring a fifth-round finish over Ricky Simon this past April. That victory was preceded by a TKO loss to Cory Sandhagen, a setback which snapped ‘The Kung Fu Kid’s’ three-fight winning streak.
Colby Covington becomes the latest fighter to take issue with Ian Garry: “The guy's a f**king joke”
Harry Kettle - December 9, 2023
Colby Covington has become the latest fighter to take a shot at Ian Garry as the public scrutiny against the Irishman continues. It’s been a rough few weeks for Ian Garry. While the youngster has been solid so far in the Octagon, things have been tricky outside of the cage. Between stories about him in the gym to accusations against his wife, he’s had to deal with some real adversity. Despite that, he’s still deep in preparation mode for his upcoming showdown with Vicente Luque at UFC 296.
Ilia Topuria is predicting a “masterpiece” against Alex Volkanovski at UFC 298: “It will be one of the easier fights of my career”
Harry Kettle - December 9, 2023
UFC contender Ilia Topuria has predicted a masterpiece of a performance ahead of his fight against Alexander Volkanovski. At UFC 298 in February, Ilia Topuria will challenge Alexander Volkanovski for the UFC featherweight championship. While some feel as if this is too quick, others expect him to put up a really good showing against the champion.
Jan Blachowicz calls for Jiri Prochazka headliner in Europe after he returns from shoulder surgery
Cole Shelton - December 8, 2023
Jan Blachowicz is hopeful to face Jiri Prochazka in the main event of a Fight Night card in Europe. Blachowicz is set for shoulder surgery, hopefully in the next week or two, he revealed to BJPENN.com on Friday. The plan is for the Pole to return in the summer, once he does the rehab and gets a training camp in.
Daniel Cormier praises Colby Covington's incredible work ethic: "No one has done more with less"
Josh Evanoff - December 8, 2023
Play-by-play Commentator Daniel Cormier believes Colby Covington might be the hardest-working fighter in the UFC today. ‘Chaos’ has been out of action since a unanimous decision win over Jorge Masvidal last March at UFC 272. While that victory was massive, he was later kept out of action due to being assaulted by ‘Gamebred’ later that month. However, Colby Covington is now set to return later this month in a welterweight title fight against Leon Edwards.
Shavkat Rakhmonov wants title shot with UFC 296 win, but admits: "Belal Muhammad also deserves"
Josh Evanoff - December 8, 2023
Shavkat Rakhmonov believes that either he or Belal Muhammad is likely next for a UFC welterweight title shot. ‘Nomad’ has been out of the cage since a submission win over Geoff Neal in March at UFC 285. That victory put the welterweight to a perfect 16-0 in his MMA career. Now, Shavkat Rakhmonov will return to the cage later this month to face Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson. The Karate-based fighter is coming off a knockout win over Kevin Holland last December.