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Luke Rockhold gives his reason for smearing his blood in the face of Paulo Costa at UFC 278.

In one of the more bizarre scenes in the history of an already unconventional sport, Luke Rockhold rubbed his bloody visage into the face of Paulo Costa in the waning moments of their UFC 278 matchup.

During the live broadcast, the applause of the crowd drowned out the UFC commentary team while Rockhold was smearing his blood onto Costa. After the fight ended, commentator Joe Rogan described the scene during the slow-motion replay, “He (Rockhold) got on top and then rubbed all his nose blood all over Paulo Costa’s face. I mean, look at that. That is just hilarious. It’s so twisted and that is so Luke Rockhold.”

Unlike Rogan, who was outside the splash zone at cageside, Costa didn’t seem to see the humor in Rockhold purposely showering him in blood.

A perplexed Costa described the moment as “disgusting” before offering his thoughts on why Rockhold would do such a thing, “I don’t know why Luke did that,” Costa said during the UFC 278 post-fight press conference. “Maybe he was so frustrated and angry because he was losing the fight. But I took a very long shower after the fight.”

On Wednesday, Rockhold explained his reasoning.

“That’s just ‘f—k you,’ said the former UFC middleweight champion during his appearance on The MMA Hour.

“You know, when someone’s point fighting and someone’s going for the kill. That’s the difference. I felt like I was there to kill or be killed and he was out there trying to get by,” added Rockhold.

Costa won the fight by decision, but there were moments Rockhold felt he could have secured a finish, but his rush to get the stoppage caused him to make critical mistakes.

“I rushed it,” said Rockhold. “I should have had that mount position, its would have been over. You know how that world works. I just rushed into that one, fell behind, kept putting myself behind and couldn’t pick myself back up. I just felt like I was in there with a lesser man and I wanted to show him, ‘you’re my bitch.’

Rockhold announced his retirement in the cage after the fight. On Tuesday, MMA Fighting confirmed Rockhold’s retirement with UFC officials.

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Maverick and Young will now fight on November 5th.

It turns out Miranda Maverick won’t be fighting out her contract after all.

The UFC women’s flyweight prospect has had her postponed UFC 278 matchup with Shanna Young re-booked for a Fight Night card on November 5th. Maverick announced the news on Instagram.

Maverick vs. Young was nixed from last weekend’s UFC 278 card after Young was hospitalized with health complications during her weight cut.

Maverick (10-4) is coming off a win over Sabina Mazo in March, which snapped a two-fight losing streak against Maycee Barber (albeit a highly debatable decision) and Erin Blanchfield. At her best she’s won the Invicta FC Phoenix Rising series flyweight tournament, as well as UFC victories over Llana Jojua and Gillian Robertson.

Young (8-4) won by TKO over Gina Mazany in April to also snap a two-fight losing streak. She’s competed at both flyweight and bantamweight, making her UFC debut at 135 lbs and losing by decision to Macy Chiasson. A TKO defeat to Stephanie Egger prompted her moved back to 125, which paid immediate dividends.

No main event has been announced for the November 5th show.

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Welterweight Gilbert Burns keeps his options open ahead of his next outing.

Welterweight contender Gilbert Burns does not want to sit on the sidelines for too long. Following a unanimous decision loss to Khamzat Chimaev back in April, ‘Durinho’ is eager to get back on the win column.

In an interview with Ag Fight, the Brazilian explained how a potential bout against Jorge Masvidal in the January Rio de Janeiro card would be ideal. However, Burns is not sure whether or not ‘Gamebred’ would be ready to fight by then.

“This has become such a soap opera, and I’ve been meaning to fight for a while. The only reason why I’m chill is because I know there’s a Rio card in January. Had it not been for that, I’d be asking for a fight like crazy. Since there is that card, I think they’re stalling in order to put me there. They want it to be against Masvidal. They’ve asked the both of us and we’ve accepted it. They tried to book it for November 12, but he said he couldn’t do it, because had just had surgery in his wrist and November was too close. So they pushed it back to December or January, but there’s no contract yet.”

Should Masvidal need more time to recuperate and cannot meet Burns in January, Gilbert says he is willing to take on different opponents. In fact, the Brazilian has multiple options on his mind, as long as he gets to perform in his home country in January.

“If this soap opera continues, let them give me another guy. It doesn’t have to be Masvidal. Any guy who’s coming off a loss wants to win and so do I. If it is Masvidal, it’s going to be cool, because he’s well-known and it’ll generate some buzz. If doesn’t want it, there are people who do. The winner of Muhammad and Brady could be a plan B. That’s a good fight. Geoff Neal has called me out, that’s another option.”

Before the loss to Chimaev, Burns (20-5) scored a unanimous decision victory over Stephen Thompson, back in July 2021. The win made the 36-year-old recover from a TKO defeat in a title fight against the champion Kamaru Usman, in February of the same year.

With no bouts announced yet, the UFC 283 card is expected to take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on January 21. The show is expected to be the UFC’s return to the country since March 2020.

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7 Billion Fans Can’t Be Wrong

Chris Rini

Take care of yourself and I’ll talk to you Monday.

Chris

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The former welterweight title contender admitted that a bout with Colby Covington would be a ‘dream’, but says he doesn’t think fans will see ‘Chaos’ back in the Octagon until at least March of 2023.

With Kamaru Usman losing his title to Leon Edwards, there’s the potential for a couple of former contenders to force their way back into the hunt. Calling back to his infamous ‘3-piece & a soda’ incident, Jorge Masvidal is already trying to drum up interest in a fight with Rocky. But ‘Gamebred’ isn’t the only man to lose to Usman who might find a path back to gold.

Gilbert Burns dropped his chance at the belt to the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ back in 2021. Although he’s currently fresh off a loss to rising star Khamzat Chimaev, he’s hunting for bookings with some of the division’s most notable names. That includes Masvidal, but also a potential “dream” fight with Colby Covington.

Unfortunately, at least from what Burns appears to have heard, it looks like ‘Chaos’ may not be back in the Octagon any time soon. In a recent interview with The AllStar, ‘Durinho’ revealed that the MMA Masters talent has apparently been struggling to recover from neck and jaw injuries.

“That would be a dream,” Burns said when asked about a fight with Covington. “The rumors [were] that he was very bad. He had a neck injury, the nerves were very bad — he lost a little bit of movement in his neck. He kinda broke his jaw again, he had surgery and the surgery didn’t go well. He’s still doing the PT (physical therapy), he’s not training. If everything goes okay, he’s only back in March — that’s what I heard. I don’t know if it’s true, but I [heard] from guys that know him. I think it’s true because he’s been quiet — he hasn’t said anything. I think he’s out until March next year.”

“Colby is always an option, you know. If you’re asking me what’s the best option for me, I’d say Masvisdal in December or January, and Colby next after that.”

While Burns may not have provided an explanation of Covington’s injuries, fans have to wonder if they’re related to an alleged assault the welterweight suffered outside a Miami restaurant back on March 22nd.

The attack was said to have been committed by former friend and training partner Jorge Masvidal, stemming from an ongoing feud between the two men. Masvidal was later arrested and charged with aggravated battery over the incident. He plead not guilty to charges against him, and was set to appear in court on August 29th pending a docket hearing on August 17th. No word yet if the case is still going to trial as planned.

Covington hasn’t competed in MMA since defeating Masvidal by unanimous decision back at UFC 272 on March 5th. That bout was the former NCAA DI All American’s first since losing a title fight rematch to Kamaru Usman in November of 2021. Burns was recently linked to a potential bout against Masvidal, targeted for either UFC 281 or UFC 282. Masvidal, however, brushed off the announcement, telling fans “don’t believe anything anyone says about me unless you hear it from me.”

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A fight between two exciting lightweights has been added to the MSG card. 

Dan Hooker hoped his ‘premium quality fighting words’ would get him a fight against Tony Ferguson, but they got him someone else: Claudio Puelles.

Hooker vs. Puelles has joined the line-up of UFC 281, the upcoming pay-per-view event scheduled for Nov. 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Fordewin MMA on Twitter was first to report the fight. Both men have since confirmed the report on their respective social media accounts.

Though 1-4 in his past five fights, Hooker has shared the Octagon with a slew of noteworthy names at featherweight and lightweight in that run. The ‘Hangman’ suffered consecutive defeats to Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler but rebounded with a unanimous decision against Nasrat Haqparast. He filled in as a short-notice replacement for Rafael dos Anjos, who was expected to fight Islam Makhachev at UFC 267 this past October. Hooker was submitted via first-round kimura.

The City Kickboxing product then opted to go down to 145 pounds, a weight class he competed in early on in his professional career. His first assignment was against a surging contender in Arnold Allen at UFC London, where he was finished by first-round TKO. Hooker announced his return to lightweight shortly after.

Puelles has rattled off five wins since losing to Martin Bravo in The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America 3 Finale nearly six years ago. The ‘Prince of Peru’ recently earned a ‘Performance of the Night’ award for his first-round kneebar of Clay Guida at UFC Vegas 52 in April. That was his third win by kneebar, which is the most in UFC history.

UFC 281 is headlined by a middleweight championship fight between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira.

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The former UFC welterweight champion expects to challenge Edwards for the title by early next year. 

Kamaru Usman is excited to complete his trilogy against Leon Edwards.

The former UFC welterweight champion was on his way to a sixth defense at UFC 278 this past Saturday before the challenger finished the fight in its final minute with a stunning head kick. The loss was his first in the UFC and just his second as a professional, but Usman has stayed positive in the aftermath.

“It was a great shot,” said Usman in a recent interview with TMZ Sports. “A great shot. I’m talking Hail Mary in the Super Bowl, last 10 seconds. That was a great shot, man. Hats off to Leon.

“It’s not hard at all [to watch the fight],” continued Usman. “Do you know how many people I’ve done that to? It’s not hard at all. It happened. That’s the beautiful thing about this sport — that happens, but we forget what was actually taking place in that fight. So I’m not down at all. It’s almost like everyone is more sad about it than I am. Everyone is more emotional about it than I am. For me, it’s a good thing because it lets me know that people care, that people are invested.”

Usman and Edwards are now 1-1 in fights, with the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ defeating ‘Rocky’ by unanimous decision in their first bout at UFC on FOX over seven years ago. UFC president Dana White said at his post-fight press conference he wants Usman vs. Edwards 3 next and suggested it happen at Wembley Stadium in London.

The newly crowned champion has set his sights on his first defense being on his turf, especially since he is now the second British fighter to win a UFC championship. Though other options—such as the winner of Khamzat Chimaev vs. Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal have been floated—Usman sees himself as the only one who should be opposite of Edwards when he returns to the Octagon. And he is more than ready to travel to London for a chance at reclaiming what was once his.

“What else makes sense? I mean, look at the division,” said Usman. “What else makes sense? It’s absolutely what’s going to happen next. I talked to Dana and we’re going to see. I’ll let him do his job and we’re going to see what date makes sense. It’s going to be the top of next year.

“I was going to try and squeeze one in this year, but it’ll probably be top of next year and I want to go to England,” continued Usman. “I’ve been feening to go to England. I feel like England is my second home now. England is half Africa. People don’t know that, but it’s half Africa. So it’s time to go over there and entertain my English people, and what better story? You couldn’t write this any better. So I’m excited to see what’s next, and we will definitely figure something out.”

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Check out the trailer for the next UFC PPV.

The next UFC pay-per-view is just three weeks away, with welterweight contender Khamzat Chimaev set to take on Nate Diaz, who’s on the final fight of his current contract.

Chimaev is not only undefeated, but he as quickly become one of the UFC’s rising stars. Only Gilbert Burns has been able to go the distance against Chimaev, and it was by far the toughest test and biggest win of Khamzat’s career back at UFC 273. Diaz might have 13 losses in his MMA career, but only Josh Thomson, Jorge Masvidal (with the aid of a New York commission doctor), and Hermes Franca have been able to beat him inside the distance.

The theme of the UFC 279 trailer is ‘Seek and Destroy,’ which I consider a nice homage to UFC 87 back when the UFC would actually title its pay-per-views. Chimaev has been smashing smeshing just about everyone in sight, and he’s expected to do the same against Diaz. Does Nate have one more surprise for us? Guess you’ll just have to wait a few weeks for that answer.

You can watch the official trailer at the top of the page.

UFC 279 takes place on September 10th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. No co-main event has been announced yet, but a welterweight bout between former interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson and No. 14 ranked contender Li Jingliang have been added to the card.

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While Jose Aldo hasn’t made any public announcements regarding the status of his career, his most recent opponent seems to believe that the former champion just hung up his gloves.

The goal for Jose Aldo when he stepped into the cage at UFC 278 this last Saturday couldn’t have been clearer. The former featherweight champion and bantamweight title contender has had only one thing in mind over his recent three-fight unbeaten streak: get back to UFC gold.

“When we first started, I told Dede (Pederneiras, Aldo’s coach) that at 35 I’d be champion and I’d retire,” Aldo said in an interview back in July. “That is why I say that I’m very close to retiring, though I used to say I’d retire as a champion.”

With his 36th birthday less than a month away now, and his immediate title hopes seemingly scuppered in the wake of a unanimous decision loss to Merab Dvalishvili, it just may be that fans have seen the Brazilian MMA legend in the Octagon for the last time. That’s certainly the narrative that Dvalishvili is spinning following his victory. In a recent interview on the MMA Hour the Serra-Longo talent revealed that Aldo told him that he’d fought his “last fight” after the conclusion of their bout.

“When he was down and I [went] to shake his hand and tell him, ‘Thank you so much for the fight,’ and I go to respect him, he was down, and I tried to help him, and he was telling me, he said, ‘That means this is my last fight, because it was my last run to title,’” Dvalishvili said (transcript via MMA Fighting). “And then he said, ‘I guess I’m done.’

“It was a very emotional moment. That’s why I was talking to him. I said, ‘You’re amazing, you did so much, you don’t have anything to prove, you’re a legend – you’re a king.’ I was a little bit heartbroken.”

Aldo has released his own statement following the loss, thanking those around him “for all the affection I receive along my walk…” but the longtime Nova Uniao stalwart has yet to make any public comment on the future of his career.

If this truly is the last time fans see Aldo in the cage, then he’ll unquestionably retire as one of the greatest featherweights—and perhaps even pure MMA talents—of all time. Though, if there’s ever been one constant in the MMA world, it’s that fighters often find it much harder to leave the sport behind than they expect. Who knows? It may just be that a few months away will find Aldo feeling the itch to get back in the cage and compete once again.

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Here’s the lineup for the next UFC card on September 3rd.

I think after the remarkable ending to UFC 278, we all need a break and a breather before the next UFC show. After we take this weekend off, the Octagon finally hits France for the very first time. In the main event of UFC Paris, former interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane takes on Tai Tuivasa, whose spirited run up the top of the heavyweight ranks has him in legitimate title contention. In the co-main event, former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker returns to action against former title challenger Marvin Vettori.

My personal favorite fight on this card is a featherweight fight between Charles Jourdain and Nathaniel Wood. That will serve as the main card opener on a historic day for the UFC in France.

Here’s the full lineup for UFC Paris, which goes down on September 3rd:

Main Card (3 PM ET, ESPN+)

Ciryl Gane vs. Tai Tuivasa

Robert Whittaker vs. Marvin Vettori

Alessio Di Chirico vs. Roman Kopylov

John Makdessi vs. Nasrat Haqparast

Taylor Lapilus vs. Khalid Taha

Charles Jourdain vs. Nathaniel Wood

Preliminary Card (12 PM ET, ESPN+)

Zarah Fairn dos Santos vs. Ailin Perez

Benoit Saint Denis vs. Gabriel Miranda

Nassourdine Imavov vs. Joaquin Buckley

Ricardo Ramos vs. Danny Henry

Fares Ziam vs. Michal Figlak

Dustin Stoltzfus vs. Abusupiyan Magomedov

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