Gilbert Burns has been one of the UFC's best welterweights for years, and was seconds away from becoming a world champion. Now, on a three-fight losing streak — against the current champ, the most recent champ, and a top-three contender — Burns is a huge underdog against the talented, but relatively untested Michael Morales in the main event of UFC…

Islam Makhachev is vacating the UFC lightweight title and is moving up to welterweight to challenge new champ Jack Della Maddalena later this year. Because of that, Ilia Topuria will fight for the vacant 155-pound title against Charles Oliveira in the main event of UFC 317 to cap off International Fight Week next month. Was this the right call? On …

Islam Makhachev is vacating his title to make a move to welterweight to face new champion Jack Della Maddalena, which also results in Ilia Topuria taking on Charles Oliveira with the vacant lightweight belt on the line at UFC 317. In the wake of UFC CEO Dana White announcing those fights and so much more — including a date and location for Dricus d…

On the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer, Matt Brown and Damon Martin discuss the fallout from UFC 315 with the UFC legend explaining why Belal Muhammad’s game plan didn’t really matter much in his loss to Jack Della Maddalena. We also talk about Della Maddalena’s chances against Islam Makhachev plus Jose Aldo retiring, the state of wome…

Jack Della Maddalena is the new UFC welterweight champion after defeating Belal Muhammad in the main event of UFC 315. It appears he will face lightweight titleholder Islam Makhachev in his first title defense, but where does Muhammad go after his championship reign came to an end? On an all-new edition of On To the Next One, MMA Fighting's Mike He…

UFC 315 was capped off by Jack Della Maddalena becoming the brand new UFC welterweight champion following a thrilling battle with Belal Muhammad in the main event. Does the result officially lock down a champ vs. champ fight with lightweight king, and No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter Islam Makhachev? Following Saturday's pay-per-view card, MMA Fightin…

Belal Muhammad and Valentina Shevchenko are set for their first title defenses. This Saturday, at UFC 315 in Montreal, Quebec, Muhammad puts his welterweight title on the line against Jack Della Maddalena in the main event, while Shevchenko starts her second women’s flyweight title run against Manon Fiorot. Will both new champions keep their belts …

UFC 315 goes down this Saturday in Montreal with two title fights, including the Belal Muhammad vs. Jack Della Maddalena main event for the UFC welterweight title, as well as Valentina Shevchenko vs. Manon Fiorot for the women's flyweight title. While the card — most notably the pay-per-view portion — is pretty good, the buzz doesn't seem to be in …

The UFC is back in Montreal. This Saturday, the UFC is headed back to the 514 for UFC 315 which goes down at the Bell Centre and is headlined by a pair of title fights. In the co-main event, Valentina Shevchenko puts her newly reclaimed flyweight title on the line against the surging Manon Fiorot, and then in the main event, Belal Muhammad puts his…

Before Belal Muhammad defends the UFC welterweight title for the first time against Jack Della Maddalena in the main event of UFC 315, check out MMA Fighting’s UFC 315 Timeline to look back on how both fighters got to their championship bout this Saturday at Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada. Follow Mike Heck: ⁠@mikeheck_jr⁠ Follow E. Casey Leydon: ⁠…

On the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer, Matt Brown and Damon Martin react to Reinier de Ridder knocking out Bo Nickal and the criticism Nickal has received after the loss. Plus, we’ll look ahead at UFC 315 and discuss the toughest possible matchup for Belal Muhammad at welterweight and why women’s MMA has seemingly been strugglinglatel…

Cory Sandhagen did everything in his power Saturday to prove he deserves bantamweight title consideration. In the UFC Des Moines main event, Sandhagen dominated two-time flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo and looked to be cruising to a decision or a clean finish when the bout was stopped just before the end of Round 2 due to a Figueiredo injury…

Cory Sandhagen ended the night with a lopsided performance, and then a finish of Deiveson Figueiredo in the main event of UFC Des Moines. Despite the TKO victory coming via injury, Sandhagen's showing was outstanding, and believes he's done enough to earn a title shot. Is he correct? Following Saturday's UFC Fight Night event, MMA Fighting's Mike H…

The UFC returns to Iowa for the first time in nearly 25 years this Saturday for UFC Des Moines, headlined by a bantamweight contest between Cory Sandhagen and Deiveson Figueiredo. Just one sleep away from the event, MMA Fighting's Alexander K. Lee and Jed Meshew preview Saturday's card, discuss what's at stake for Sandhagen and Figgy Smalls, break …

It was a crazy weekend in the combat sports world this past weekend with MMA and boxing delivering big moments — such as Eddie Hall's crazy 30-second knockout win at KSW 105, Chris Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn's instant classic, and Ian Machado Garry's gutsy decision win over Carlos Prates in the main event of UFC Kansas City. This weekend, it's anoth…

The UFC is heading to Iowa for the first time in nearly 25 years. This Saturday, UFC Des Moines marks the UFC's first trip to the Hawkeye State since UFC 26 in 2000 as the promotion brings a stacked Fight Night card to the capitol city, headlined by a bantamweight matchup between Cory Sandhagen and Deiveson Figueiredo. So, of course, No Bets Barred…

On the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer, Matt Brown and Damon Martin react to the UFC Kansas City card and Ian Machado Garry calling for the next title shot following his win over Carlos Prates. Plus we’ll discuss Anthony Smith’s retirement fight and Brown explains why he’s against fighters making those kinds of announcements before cal…

Ian Machado Garry showed once again he can hang with anyone in the welterweight division, gutting out a five-round win over the white hot Carlos Prates in Saturday’s UFC Kansas City main event. But should fans be concerned about Prates nearly putting Garry down in the fifth? Does Garry need to fight again to cement a title opportunity? On an all-ne…

Ian Machado Garry looked like he was cruising to a flawless victory in the UFC Kansas City main event through nearly 18 minutes, but Carlos Prates turned things around in a big way — nearly finishing Garry in the fifth. In the end, Garry gets back in the win column, and is now the backup fighter for the welterweight title fight at UFC 315. Followin…

The UFC is back in Missouri and it brought a banger of a main event. On Saturday, UFC Kansas City goes down from T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, headlined by a welterweight scrap between Ian Machado Garry and Carlos Prates. Garry is coming off his near upset of Shavkat Rakhmonov in December, while Prates is one of the faces of the Fighting Nerds re…

Even after a UFC-less weekend, the news cycle is buzzing about what could headline UFC 317 — the promotion's annual International Fight Week card in #LasVegas. With former featherweight champ Ilia Topuria teasing news, could he be involved in the main event, and if not, what could be the big fight on the card? On an all-new edition of Between the L…

With the 2025 NFL Draft set to take place this week, it's once again time for the MMA Fighting team to don the hats of the premier combat sports promotions in the world and select the 28 fighters they would most want to have on roster to build a promotion around. Listen as Jed Meshew guides the action and the staff drafts seven fighters to their re…

The UFC is back! This Saturday, the UFC returns after a week off for its third trip to Kansas City, with a dynamite welterweight matchup between Ian Machado Garry and Carlos Prates headlining the card. UFC Kansas City also features the retirement fight for Anthony Smith, and a stacked main card, so, of course, No Bets Barred is here to break it all…

On the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer, Matt Brown and Damon Martin preview the UFC Kansas City main event between Carlos Prates and Ian Machado Garry, we pay tribute to Anthony Smith ahead of his final fight, Matt's concern for Paddy Pimblett after revealing his 40-pound weight gain after beating Michael Chandler plus we look back on …

Paddy Pimblett battered, bloodied, and eventually stopped Michael Chandler in the co-main event of UFC 314 this past Saturday in #Miami, and now the ceiling appears to have been raised as to how high Pimblett can go in the UFC's best division. Can Pimblett find his way to UFC gold, and what's the next step to get him there? On an all-new edition of…