Category: Boxing / UFC / MMA

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…

Thirteen years ago, a former UFC champion made his final walk to the octagon. At UFC 141 in 2011, Alistair Overeem stopped former heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar in a main event at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The event's poster touted the size of both…

If UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja is running out of options, Khabib Nurmagomedov has a suggestion. Pantoja (29-5 MMA, 13-3 UFC) has already notched three title defenses over Brandon Royval, Steve Erceg, and most recently Kai Asakura at UFC 310. He holds w

There were fight cards in 2024 that were put together to be too big to fail. And in the business of selling pay-per-views, that's obviously a very smart thing. But how often do those shows turn into ones that were merely good for "on-paper" views, and when it came time…

Khalil Rountree experienced something strange in his brutal loss to UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. Rountree (13-6 MMA, 9-6 UFC) was battered in a Round 4 TKO loss to Pereira at UFC 307 this past October. He underwent septoplasty surgery

The voting for the UFC's 2024 awards continues this week with some of the best "Say Uncle" moments of the year. Few people hate on a good old-fashioned submission in MMA, and the UFC had plenty to pick from the past dozen months. But they've been boiled down to the…