Category: Boxing / UFC / MMA

Cigarettes, booze, and brutal knockouts. That was Carlos Prates' recipe to enamor the MMA world and become one of its biggest standout fighters of 2024. In short, the Brazilian striker fought four times, scored four knockouts, and won four $50,000 Performance…

Two male fighters stood out above the rest in 2024, but the final choice for MMA Junkie's Male Fighter of the Year was Ilia Topuria. The UFC featherweight champion had a year for the ages. Topuria began his year by knocking out Alexander Volkanovski in February at

Sayif Saud still thinks Brandon Moreno has the best chance to dethrone UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja. Moreno (22-8-2 MMA, 10-5-2 UFC) has lost to Pantoja three times, most recently falling short by split decision in their title fight at UFC 290 in July 2

Check out these photos from the fights at RIZIN 49, their big New Year's Eve show featuring three title fights at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. (Photos courtesy of RIZIN FF)

Michael Bisping doesn't see Magomed Ankalaev dethroning UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. Ankalaev (19-1-1 MMA, 10-1-1 UFC) is projected to be next in line to challenge Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC), although "Poatan" recently hinted that the UFC could have other plans f

After a big 2024, Youssef Zalal has earned himself a marquee matchup. At UFC Fight Night 251 on Feb. 15, Zalal (16-5-1 MMA, 6-3-1 UFC) will battle perennial featherweight contender Calvin Kattar (23-8 MMA, 7-6 UFC) in a three-round bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas

Mike Valle's work has been seen in premiere MMA for a long time. However, 2024 was the year when his coaching really stood out. The veteran trainer, who operates out of Chicago with VFS Academy, helped create two UFC champions this year and helped further the…

Ali Abdelaziz made a very bold statement about UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev. Makhachev (26-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC) runs things back with Arman Tsarukyan (22-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) Jan. 18 in the UFC 311 main event from Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif., and airs on

Kevin Holland sees Belal Muhammad as an easier fight than Dricus Du Plessis. Holland, who has extensive experience under the UFC banner across multiple weight classes, was asked how he would stack up against both welterweight champion Muhammad (24-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC)…

Luke Rockhold expects Umar Nurmagomedov to pose serious problems for Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 311. Nurmagomedov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) challenges bantamweight champion Dvalishvili (18-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) in the Jan. 18 co-main event from Inglewood, Calif. (

Aaron Pico, once regarded as perhaps the biggest prospect in MMA history, could soon be on the move. At 20, Pico made his MMA debut in 2017 under the Bellator banner. There was some turbulence in the early portion of his career, but he has currently won nine of…

The road back to MMA was long and winding for Francis Ngannou. But when it was time to step back into the cage again, he did so with a bang. In what was his first fight in 34 months, Ngannou smashed the towering Rennan Ferreira in PFL: Battle of the Gian

Kyoji Horiguchi experienced multiple scares from Nkazimulo Zulu at RIZIN 49: Decade, but he ultimately found his path to victory and defended the flyweight title. After largely dominating in the opening round of the matchup on Tuesday in Saitama, Japan, Zulu (16-7-1)…

A referee wound up on the receiving end of multiple punches while trying to separate a fight at RIZIN 49: Decade. During Rukiya Anpo and Sina Karimian's mixed rules exhibition bout Tuesday morning in Saitama, Japan, a brawl broke out between both fighters, and the…

Every year, the UFC welcomes new faces to the promotion. Some will become ranked fighters, future title challengers, and possibly champions. A couple of names have already made a significant impact in their debut year. Kayla Harrison, who is ranked No. 2 by the promotion…