Tag: UFC

‘From McGregor To Pimblett In Less Than A Year’ – Fans React To Michael Chandler Co-Headlining UFC 314 vs. ‘The Baddy’

UFC lightweight contender Michael Chandler has his first assignment of 2025 in the calendar, and it unsurprisingly won’t see the promotion revisiting plans for him to face Conor McGregor. After waiting a considerable time for a showdown with the Irishman, Chandler finally moved on by rematching Charles Oliveira at UFC 309 last November. A second […]

UFC lightweight contender Michael Chandler has his first assignment of 2025 in the calendar, and it unsurprisingly won’t see the promotion revisiting plans for him to face Conor McGregor.

After waiting a considerable time for a showdown with the Irishman, Chandler finally moved on by rematching Charles Oliveira at UFC 309 last November.

A second defeat to “Do Bronx” has left the former Bellator champion with a 2-4 record under the UFC banner and outside the championship conversation at 155 pounds.

He’ll look to rectify that in 2025, starting with a five-round co-main event opposite one of the division’s most prominent rising names in Paddy Pimblett.

That bout was revealed by Dana White among a slew of announcements Thursday night, with Chandler and Pimblett slated to co-headline the UFC 314 pay-per-view in Miami on April 12.

Fans were quick to give their thoughts on the news, taking to social media with predictions for the battle between experience and youth.

Many focused on the bout marking Chandler’s second since the canceled McGregor fight last July, while others went back and forth with their takes on who will emerge victorious inside Kaseya Center.

‘From McGregor To Pimblett In Less Than A Year’ – Fans React To Michael Chandler Co-Headlining UFC 314 vs. ‘The Baddy’

UFC lightweight contender Michael Chandler has his first assignment of 2025 in the calendar, and it unsurprisingly won’t see the promotion revisiting plans for him to face Conor McGregor. After waiting a considerable time for a showdown with the Irishman, Chandler finally moved on by rematching Charles Oliveira at UFC 309 last November. A second […]

UFC lightweight contender Michael Chandler has his first assignment of 2025 in the calendar, and it unsurprisingly won’t see the promotion revisiting plans for him to face Conor McGregor.

After waiting a considerable time for a showdown with the Irishman, Chandler finally moved on by rematching Charles Oliveira at UFC 309 last November.

A second defeat to “Do Bronx” has left the former Bellator champion with a 2-4 record under the UFC banner and outside the championship conversation at 155 pounds.

He’ll look to rectify that in 2025, starting with a five-round co-main event opposite one of the division’s most prominent rising names in Paddy Pimblett.

That bout was revealed by Dana White among a slew of announcements Thursday night, with Chandler and Pimblett slated to co-headline the UFC 314 pay-per-view in Miami on April 12.

Fans were quick to give their thoughts on the news, taking to social media with predictions for the battle between experience and youth.

Many focused on the bout marking Chandler’s second since the canceled McGregor fight last July, while others went back and forth with their takes on who will emerge victorious inside Kaseya Center.

Ilia Topuria Vacates UFC Featherweight Title, Volkanovski vs. Lopes Announced

Ilia Topuria is officially moving up to the lightweight division, and a fight for his newly vacated UFC featherweight title is already set. Topuria outlined his intentions to achieve two-division glory soon after capturing the 145-pound crown at the expense of Alexander Volkanovski last February. And after just one successful defense opposite Max Holloway, the […]

Ilia Topuria is officially moving up to the lightweight division, and a fight for his newly vacated UFC featherweight title is already set.

Topuria outlined his intentions to achieve two-division glory soon after capturing the 145-pound crown at the expense of Alexander Volkanovski last February. And after just one successful defense opposite Max Holloway, the Spaniard suggested his time in the division was done.

That’s turned out to be the case, with UFC CEO Dana White confirming Thursday that Topuria has indeed relinquished the featherweight belt ahead of a permanent move up.

With that, a clash for the championship between former titleholder Volkanovski and surging contender Diego Lopes will take place at UFC 314 in Miami on April 12.

Jack Della Maddalena Pulled From UFC London, Challenges Welterweight Champion Belal Muhammad At UFC 315

A new main event is set to go down in London next month after Jack Della Maddalena was announced as the next challenger to UFC Welterweight Champion Belal Muhammad’s reign. Della Maddalena was originally set to headline on March 22 in England’s capital in a likely title eliminator opposite Leon Edwards. But among a slew […]

A new main event is set to go down in London next month after Jack Della Maddalena was announced as the next challenger to UFC Welterweight Champion Belal Muhammad’s reign.

Della Maddalena was originally set to headline on March 22 in England’s capital in a likely title eliminator opposite Leon Edwards. But among a slew of announcements Thursday night, UFC CEO Dana White revealed that the Australian has been replaced by Sean Brady.

Rather than injury or travel issues causing the chance, Della Maddalena has found himself with an unexpected opportunity to capture gold next time out.

The striking specialist will headline UFC 315 in Montreal on May 10 in competition for Muhammad’s title due to an injury to number one contender Shavkat Rakhmonov.

“Nomad” has now seen two planned championship chances slip away. He was originally set to compete for the gold last December before a bone infection forced Muhammad out on late notice. He subsequently beat Ian Garry to further cement his claim to the next shot.

The Kazakh fighter will now be waiting in the wings to face the winner, as Della Maddalena looks to ride his undefeated UFC record all the way to the top in the “Great White North.”

Patrício Pitbull Signs With UFC, Debuts Against Yair Rodríguez At UFC 314 In Miami

Patrício Pitbull is on his way to the UFC at long last. After months of being at odds with PFL executives over his frustration with limited fight opportunities, Pitbull was released from his contract last month, officially closing the chapter on his rocky tenure with the promotion. The former Bellator featherweight champion has long expressed […]

Patrício Pitbull is on his way to the UFC at long last.

After months of being at odds with PFL executives over his frustration with limited fight opportunities, Pitbull was released from his contract last month, officially closing the chapter on his rocky tenure with the promotion.

The former Bellator featherweight champion has long expressed his eagerness to join the UFC, and that moment has finally arrived.

After a report from Japanese media outlet MMAPLANET that claimed Pitbull has signed with the UFC was deleted and branded a mistake, CEO Dana White confirmed just hours on that the Brazilian is indeed now under the organization’s banner.

And the MMA legend already has his debut set, joining a stacked UFC 314 lineup in Miami on April 12 opposite former interim featherweight champion Yair Rodríguez.

The 37-year-old Brazilian last competed at Bellator Champions Series Belfast in March 2024, where he delivered a dominant third-round knockout victory over Jeremy Kennedy to successfully defend his title.

Pitbull spent the majority of his career dominating Bellator’s featherweight division, holding the championship on three separate occasions, while also briefly reigning as the promotion’s lightweight titleholder. He currently holds a professional record of 36-7, with 13 wins by knockout and 11 by submission.

Anthony Smith On Retirement Fight Coming Against Unranked KO Artist: ‘I Was Very Shocked’

While initially surprised by the matchup chosen to be his last, UFC light heavyweight Anthony Smith says he now understands it. Smith announced his plans for one final farewell fight on mixed martial arts’ biggest stage after falling to a third loss in his last four fights in December 2024. He was knocked out by […]

While initially surprised by the matchup chosen to be his last, UFC light heavyweight Anthony Smith says he now understands it.

Smith announced his plans for one final farewell fight on mixed martial arts’ biggest stage after falling to a third loss in his last four fights in December 2024. He was knocked out by Dominick Reyes at UFC 310, a result that came five months on from another setback to middleweight contender Roman Dolidze.

With that, 2025 will mark the year in which “Lionheart” retires. And he’ll do so opposite a curious choice of opposition.

It was recently announced that Smith will hang up the gloves at UFC Kansas City this coming April, where he’ll meet an opponent who rides a streak of 11 first-round finishes in the form of Chinese prospect Zhang Mingyang.

During the latest episode of his On Paper podcast, Smith admitted to being “shocked” at first when the bout was presented to him. But while many see him as the UFC’s sacrificial lamb as the promotion looks to build the “Mountain Tiger,” the 36-year-old former title challenger doesn’t see it that way.

“I didn’t have any suggestions, but I was very shocked with the matchup, for sure,” Smith said. “That wasn’t a bad thing, I just was not expecting that one, but once I kind of looked into him a little bit and sat on it, it makes a lot of sense why they would go in that direction.

“I have a lot of conversations with these guys — and if they did (book the fight for Zhang to win), they’re probably not going to tell me — but Mick Maynard and Sean Shelby have always told me that they don’t care who wins. They want good fights. They want interesting matchups. And they put people in positions and it’s up to you to do what you what you do with it,” Smith continued. “Of course, we can think of people that were favorably matched and put in some better positions than others, but I’ve known Mick Maynard and Sean Shelby and those guys a really long time and they’ve always been pretty straight-up with me, even in times that I don’t like it.”

UFC Kansas City remains without a main event as of now, but names like Giga Chikadze, Michel Pereira, and Ikram Aliskerov are among those slated to join Smith’s retirement fight on the April 26 lineup.