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Employing the talents on unbeaten middleweight contender, Khamzat Chimaev ahead of a planned UFC 308 title fight with Islam Makhachev, surging lightweight challenger, Arman Tsarukyan has described the Chechen as “very strong” after many a grappling showdown.

Tsarukyan, the current number one ranked divisional contender, most recently featured on the main card of UFC 300 back in April, taking on former undisputed lightweight champion, Charles Oliveira — fighting the Brazilian in an officially-billed title eliminator.

And defeating the Sao Paulo finisher over the course of three rounds in a controversial split decision success, Tsarukyan was lined up to tackle Makahchv at the end of October in the main event of UFC 307, the pairing hit the skids with Makhachev sidelined through an unspecified arm injury.

Arman Tsarukyan breaks down training with Khamzat Chimaev

However, sharing the mats with unbeaten middleweight contender, Chimaev ahead of a potential title fight with Makhachev next, the streaking, Tsarukyan has shared some interesting insights into how those sessions played out.

“Of course I did,” Arman Tsarukyan said when asked if he felt Khamzat Chimaev’s power during their training sessions during an interview with Islam Badadzhanov. “We had a [grappling] match with him. It’ll be part of the [Hype Reality] project. And in addition to the wrestling, I felt his power, too.”

“He is very strong, powerful and he weighs I think about 100 kilograms,” Arman Tsarukyan explained. “He can take you down well, control — [he] breathes well. Such as wrestling work with control and at the same [time], uses grappling very well, especially in chokes. He has two very solid techniques. He chokes from the position — the position that it’s better not to be in.”

As for his own return to action, Chimaev is set to co-headline the above-mentioned UFC 308 card later this year — taking on former undisputed middleweight champion, Robert Whittaker in a rescheduled clash over the course of five rounds.

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Chingiz Allazov is a decorated fighter in ONE Championship who holds the Featherweight Kickboxing World Title, but he is looking to leave it behind. After capturing gold in K-1 and ONE, ‘Chinga’ Allazov holds the top rank as the best pound-for-pound kickboxer on earth, but wants to step away from ONE.

Chingiz Allazov

Allazov has taken the kickboxing world by storm. The aggressive kickboxer has highly impressive wins against the likes of K-1 MAX Champion Yasuhiro Kido, GLORY Champion Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong, the top-ranked Jo Nattawut, all-time great Superbon Singha Mawynn, and K-1 and GLORY titleholder Marat Grigorian. With these notable victories, Chingiz Allazov is ranked among all-time greats and is the top pound-for-pound kickboxer right now.

In an IG live interview, Marat Grigorian recently said that Allazov has vacated his kickboxing world title in ONE and is stepping away from the organization. In a conversation with Chingiz Allazov, we can update his side of the story.

Chingiz Allazov Leaving ONE

Speaking to the world champion Chingiz Allazov, he explained:

“Yes, it’s true. Before the fight between Marat Grigorian and Superbon, I told ONE Championship that I would leave my belt for this fight, but they said no … They offered me the fight with Superbon before Marat Grigorian, and I said, ‘If I fight Marat, I will finish my career.’”

Over five rounds, Allazov defended his title against Grigorian in 2023. Grigorian then defeated Sitthichai before losing to Superbon for the interim title. ‘Chinga’ was hoping that the Superbon vs. Grigorian fight would be for the undisputed championship.

Allazov continued, after his win over Grigorian he wanted either the Muay Thai Champion Tawanchai in kickboxing or a rematch to avenge a prior loss to Giorgio Petrosyan. He added:

“After that, I asked for a fight with Tawanchai, or even Giorgio Petrosyan again. But Petrosyan is done fighting in ONE Championship, and Tawanchai doesn’t seem interested in a kickboxing match with me. But now, I have a different plan. My own plan for my life and future, not the same plan as ONE Championship.”

Chingiz Allazov continued:

“But this news is true … I’m done fighting in ONE Championship, and I said I would leave my belt for Marat and Superbon to fight for. Before, Superbon won the interim title fight, but after this fight, they offered me another contract. However, I told them no, I’m finishing my career. I have different plans for my life. Maybe in the future, Inshallah, I’ll return to fight other fighters, but for now, I train every day, focus on my life, and focus on my family. Inshallah, always.”

Despite leaving the organization and leaving his illustrious title behind, he has nothing to say but good things about them. Allazov said:

“I wish all the best to all the fighters in ONE Championship, and I want to thank ONE Championship. I have a lot of respect for the whole ONE Championship team and Chatri.”

Chingiz Allazov has had public issues with ONE in the past. It’s not clear what’s next for either party. ONE has not yet officially removed the title from Allazov. ‘Chinga’ may move into fighting with K-1 or somewhere in central Asia. He said he is not yet done with kickboxing as a whole and he will continue to fight.

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Turning in one of the most exciting finish in the history of the Octagon earlier this year, symbolic BMF champion, Max Holloway has urged fans to tune in for a similarly stunning stoppage at UFC 308 later this annum — as he takes on Ilia Topuria for the undisputed featherweight crown.

Holloway, a former undisputed featherweight titleholder under the banner of the promotion, is set to return to action in two months time at the end of October, travelling to Abu Dhabi, UAE to take on the unbeaten, Topuria in an undisputed featherweight championship clash.

Last time out, the Hawaiian favorite would land a spectacular buzzer-beating win over then-BMF champion, Justin Gaethje on the main card of UFC 300 back in April — flattening the Arizona native with a huge hook in the pocket, sending him to the canvas face-first.

As for Georgian-Spaniard, Topuria, the undefeated featherweight minted himself as undisputed gold holder back in February, felling common-opponent, Alexander Volkanovski with a vicious second round knockout — handing the Australian his first blemish at the featherweight limit to boot.

Max Holloway promises another spectacle in UFC 308 title fight

And predicting another exciting night of action on ‘Fight Island’ later this year in their UFC 308 headliner, Holloway vowed to land another stunning win, this time taking out Topuria.

“Every fight camp, it’s me versus me,” Max Holloway said on his official YouTube channel. “I got to go out there and I’ll outdo myself in every fight camp, you know?”

Everybody thought UFC 300 was amazing, wait till they get to see the outcome of UFC 308, it’s going to be a good one,” Max Holloway continued.

Earlier this month, Topuia issued a similar word of warning to Holloway — claiming the matchup with the ex-champion is tailor-made for his striking expertise.

“If he’s (Max Holloway) going to bring the same energy he brings in the last 10 seconds of every round, when he doest his (point to ground), I’m going to knock him out in the first round,” Ilia Topuria said. “Because in the moment he’s going to stop in the middle and start to exchange and punches with me. I recommend him to use a helmet, because he’s going to need.”

If he does it, even better for me,” Ilia Topuria explained. “Maybe I’m going to point to the ground. Maybe I will do all that because I’m going to feel so comfortable in that fight because I’m telling you, ever time I see him fight I’m like, ‘Everyone is going to be surprised when I knock him out,’ because I see him as luke such an easy matchup for me. If he thinks that I’m not right, prove me wrong. We’re going to be in the same Octagon, October 26. prove me wrong.”

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A four-time foe of former two-time middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya, undisputed light heavyweight best, Alex Pereira has suggested the former may have been carrying an injury into his return at UFC 305 earlier this month — pointing to his kick-light approach to his fight with Dricus du Plessis.

Adesanya, a former undisputed middleweight champion twice under the banner of the promotion, headlined UFC 305 in Perth, Australia against bitter-rival, du Plessis — dropping his second consecutive loss for the first time in his mixed martial arts career.

Struggling with the pressure and timing of Pretoria native, du Plessis, Adesanya was stunned in the fourth round before he was swept off his feet with a takedown, and wrapped in a taut rear-naked choke — forced to tap and give up a middleweight title fight for the second bout in a row.

Alex Pereira shares thoughts on Israel Adesanya’s loss at UFC 305

And sharing his thoughts on the City Kickboxing staple’s performance, Pereira speculated that the Nigerian-Kiwi may have been harboring an injury ahead of his UFC 305 title fight with du Plessis — pointing to his kick-light display ‘Downunder.

“Of course, I don’t know how (Israel) Adesanya was,” Alex Pereira said on his YouTube channel. “When we are there, we don’t talk about injuries, don’t talk about problems. We are there. We want to fight, want to win — no excuses. Maybe Adesanya had an injury. You could see he kicked very little.”

“That inside kick of Adesanya’s is very good,” Alex Pereira explained. “Not everyone can do that, but he can do it very well. It was a good weapon and he didn’t continue doing that inside kick. Even Dricus (du Plessis) said it bothered him; it also bothered me. He didn’t continue to do it. When he is only throwing hands, I think it’s easier for the opponent to protect themselves or get out.”

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Amid his sidelining from action, former undisputed light heavyweight champion, Jiri Prochazka has claimed a potential middleweight title run may be on the cards next — particularly after Dricus du Plessis retained his title at UFC 305 against former champion, Israel Adesanya.

Prochazka, who still retains the number one rank in the light heavyweight pile, most recently headlined UFC 303 at the end of June during International Fight Week.

Suffering his second defeat to champion, Alex Pereira in their heated title rematch, Czech Republic striker, Prochazka was stopped with a brutal high-kick knockout.

And in the immediate aftermath of his loss, the former Rizin FF star weighed up both a middleweight drop in chase of a second Octagon crown — or a title-eliminator against fellow former champion, Jamahal Hill.

In his most recent victory, devastating knockout ace, Prochazka rallied to best Aleksandar Rakic with a stunning second round stoppage at UFC 300 earlier this year to boot.

Jiri Prochazka weighs up Dricus du Plessis title charge

And still undecided on his future amid links to an impending return to action later this year, Prochazka has welcomed the chance to take on Pretoria favorite, du Plessis for the middleweight championship.

“I’ve been considering that if (Israel Adesanya) wins, I’ll stay in the light heavyweight division, but if (Dricus) du Plessis wins, I’ll follow him,” Jiri Prochazka said on his official YouTube channel.

“I’ll clear things up in a bit there and take the belt,” Jiri Prochazka explained. “It would certainly be a challenge for me to go for the belt in the [middleweight] division. And then move up [back to light heavyweight].”

Winning 205lbs gold back in the summer of 2022, Prochazka travelled to Singapore where he toppled then-champion, Glover Teixeira with a stunning fifth round finish — defeating the Brazilian with a rear-naked choke stoppage — sans hooks, with the challenger down on the scorecards heading into the final round.

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Sean O’Malley thinks Khabib Nurmagomedov’s presence could give his potential clash with Umar Nurmagomedov that big-fight feel.

The latter of the Dagestani MMA dynasty earned a big win inside the Octagon earlier this month, scoring a decisive decision victory over Cory Sandhagen. The victory pushed Umar Nurmagomedov into the No. 2 spot in the bantamweight rankings, setting him up to challenge the winner of next month’s title tilt between reigning 135-pound king Sean O’Malley and top-ranked contender Merab Dvalishvili.

O’Malley is not the kind of fighter to count his chickens before they hatch, but he can’t help but think about the big fight feel that would come with facing Umar Nurmagomedov. Especially if it means competing against the mind and coaching of Khabib Nurmagomedov who would undoubtedly be in his cousin’s corner.

“I never really thought about it but just kind of off the top of my head right now if I think about it, that would be cool. Khabib’s a legend, 29-0, and very disciplined, serious guy which would make it even more fun,” O’Malley told Red Corner MMA.

“It’d be hard to top that, like I guess beating Ilia or Max after that, like there’s guys you could top that with but it’d be hard to get too excited for. I don’t know, I’m thinking out loud right now. It would be cool” (h/t MMA News).

Sean O’Malley headlines once in a lifetime event at sphere in las vegas

Before O’Malley can even concern himself with the Dagestani wrestling attack of an undefeated Nurmagomedov, he’ll have to handle his toughest test yet when he meets streaking Georgian standout Merab Dvalishvili.

The two bantamweight warriors will square off on Saturday, September 14 when the promotion celebrates Mexican Independence Day inside Sphere in Las Vegas.

Dana White has promised an event unlike anything that’s ever been done before. Aside from the unique setting, UFC 306 will feature not one, but two exciting championship clashes. The first will feature a trilogy bout as Alexa Grasso returns to defend her flyweight title against Valentina Shevchenko.

Grasso shocked the world at UFC 285, scoring a fourth-round submission victory over ‘Bullet’ to kickstart her 125-pound reign. Later that year, Grasso and Shevchenko ran it back, but the bout was controversially ruled a split draw.

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Former welterweight title challenger, Gilbert Burns has claimed it’s “crazy” how his teammate, Michael Chandler remains sidelined from action for so long — particularly with a matchup opposite Conor McGregor failing to materialize so far this year.

Burns, the current number six ranked welterweight contender and former title challenger, most recently featured at UFC 299 back in March, suffering a third round knockout loss to surging Australian contender, Jack Della Maddalena in the pair’s high-stakes pairing.

For Chandler, the Kill Cliff FC staple has been out of action for the last two years, remaining sidelined since he suffered a third round rear-naked choke loss to former interim lightweight gold holder, Dustin Poirier at Madison Square Garden.

And chasing a grudge fight with McGregor in the time since to no avail, Chandler was booked to headline UFC 303 against the Dubliner earlier this summer, however, a toe injury ruled the ex-champion from a comeback to the Octagon.

Gilbert Burns urges Michael Chandler to move on from Conor McGregor

With Chandler still hoping to secure a fight with McGregor at the welterweight limit before the end of the year — potentially at UFC 310 in December, Chandler has been labelled as “crazy” by his training partner, Burns for chasing the bout still.

“I would never wait that long for any opponent,” Gilbert Burns told MMA Fighting during a recent interview. “I would never wait, especially (at) my age. He (Michael Chandler) just turned 38, too. I would never wait two years. That’s crazy. Even thought it’s Conor McGregor, I don’t care. I would never wait.”

He’s already waiting that long, like you said, I would wait until December,” Gilbert Burns explained. “If the guy shows up, good, we’re here. If not, I think it would have moved on a long time [ago] already.”

Slated to return later this year at UFC Vegas 97, Burns will tangle with fellow grappling talent, Sean Brady in a main event bout in September.

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A lot has changed for lightweight standout Chase Hooper over the years.

Hooper was just 18-years-old when he signed a development deal with the UFC and quickly became a social media sensation courtesy of his wiry frame and accompanying baby face. It certainly didn’t hurt that he had the skills to match as the accomplished BJJ wizard scored a big first-round finish in his promotional debut against Daniel Teymur at UFC 245.

Five years later, things are drastically different for Hooper both in and out of the Octagon, but ‘The Dream’ finally feels like he’s getting the hang of being an adult with a very unique career choice.

“It’s definitely been a difficult journey,” Hooper told RG.org of growing up in the bright lights of the UFC. “I was still figuring out everything, like how to buy a house, how to pay my bills, how to pay taxes. But I think I’m definitely starting to find my groove in and out of the cage. I’m starting to figure out how to live with this type of career.”

One of the biggest changes is that Hooper is no longer fighting for just himself. Every time he steps into the cage, it’s an opportunity for him to give his daughter a better life.

“Losing a fight, the worst thing was probably on the ego,” Hooper said. “But now, I need to provide. It’s for a purpose now. I’m not just fighting for myself. I’m fighting so that my daughter can be in a better position than I was growing up.”

Chase Hooper’s move to lightweight has proven to be a wise decision

As Hooper began to grow into his 6’1″ frame, the Enumclaw, Washington native made the move up the lightweight. It’s proven to be a wise decision as he’s since rattled off three straight wins, including back-to-back submission victories over Jordan Leavitt and Viacheslav Borshchev.

“Now, I’m not so scared of all these names,” Hooper said. “There are some scary names up there. There are some guys that are dangerous. But I know I can hang with these guys. Obviously, I don’t think I’m ready for Islam [Makhachev] next week. But I’m working my way up the division and I’m stacking that resume up.”

Going forward, Hooper believes his biggest asset inside the Octagon will be his unconventional style which will be difficult for his opponents to replicate while training.

“I have some of the best jiu-jitsu in the division,” he said. “That’s kind of a niche skill set; that’s not super common. So I think having a weird style, it’s hard to prepare for. I think I can catch a lot of these guys … there’s definitely some winnable fights in the outer edge of the top 15.”

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Tom Aspinall will be the backup for this fall’s undisputed heavyweight title scrap between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic.

Thus far, the UFC has not officially confirmed when or even if Jones vs. Miocic is going to happen, but all signs point toward the long-awaited legacy clash going down at UFC 309 when the promotion makes its annual pit spot at Madison Square Garden on November 9.

Expected to face the winner, or whichever one who doesn’t immediately retire, interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall revealed in a video on his YouTube channel that he has spoken to the UFC about being the official backup for ‘Bones’ vs. Miocic in case either one can’t make the walk come fight night.

“Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic, New York City. As I said, this fight hasn’t been confirmed. But after my last fight against Curtis Blaydes there was some talk about me being the back-up fighter. The UFC spoke to me directly about that, I said, ‘I’m in!’ Somebody pulls out, I’m in. One day notice, ten day notice, ten weeks notice, one hour notice, I’ll be prepared for that date” (h/t Sportskeeda).

Tom Aspinall Happy to send Jon Jones into retirement, one way or another

Originally, Jones and Miocic were scheduled to fight at UFC 295 last year, but a pectoral injury forced ‘Bones’ out of the bout. That prompted the promotion to introduce an interim belt at the event. Aspinall captured the temporary title with a quick-fire finish of Sergei Pavlovich in the co-main event.

He’s since become the first fighter in more than a decade to defend an interim title, dispatching Curtis Blaydes 60 seconds into their UFC 304 co-main event in Manchester.

Unfortunately, there’s no guarantee we’ll ever see Jones vs. Aspinall with ‘Bones’ continuously teasing retirement on social media. If Jones does decide to pack it in later this year, that’s perfectly fine with Aspinall. He’ll just go down as the fighter who retired Jon Jones without ever having to actually fight him.

“[Jones] was praying that I would lose that fight against Curtis Blaydes,” Aspinall said on the Believe You Me podcast with Michael Bisping. “Because there is nowhere that you can publicly find him saying he would fight me. It doesn’t exist… Since I won that fight, he’s gone completely quiet… I will retire Jon Jones without even fighting him.”

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More than a decade later, Ronda Rousey is apologizing for sharing a controversial conspiracy video claiming that the Sandy Hook massacre was staged.

The shooting incident occurred on December 14, 2012, when Adam Lanza entered Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, and opened fire, killing 20 children and six staff members. Following the incident, conspiracy theories about the shooting ran rampant, many of them perpetuated by disgraced political commentator and former InfoWars host Alex Jones.

A month after the shooting, Rousey shared a YouTube video on X (formerly Twitter) that perpetuated claims that the entire incident was a work of fiction. The post included a caption from Rousey: “Extremely interesting, and must-watch.”

Rousey was immediately hit with outrage prompting her to delete the video quickly. While mainstream media failed to pick up the story, the incident was addressed by UFC CEO Dana White at a press event in March 2013. White unsurprisingly came to Rousey’s defense saying that “everybody has an opinion” and suggesting that the bigger problem was that “people are f*cking p*ssies.”

The whole thing was seemingly forgotten until recently when Rousey engaged in a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything). The MMA icon was immediately inundated with scathing questions about her past comments related to the massacre.

Ronda Rousey Will Regret Sharing Sandy Hook video ‘Until the day i die’

Shortly after, Rousey took to X and issued a lengthy statement apologizing for the 11-year-old post.

“I didn’t even believe it, [the conspiracy video] but was so horrified at the truth that I was grasping for an alternative fiction to cling to instead. I quickly realized my mistake and took it down, but the damage was done.

“By some miracle it seemingly slipped under the media’s radar, I was never asked about it so I never spoke of it again, afraid that calling attention to it would have the opposite of the intended effect — it could increase the views of those conspiracy videos, and selfishly, inform even more people I was ignorant, self absorbed, and tone deaf enough to share one in the first place.”

Rousey added that she’ll regret the decision to share the video “until the day I die.”

“I deserve to be hated, labeled, detested, resented, and worse for it. I deserve to lose out on every opportunity, I should have been canceled, I would have deserved it. I still do. I apologize that this came 11 years too late, but to those affected by the Sandy Hook massacre, from the bottom of my heart and depth of my soul I am so so sorry for the hurt I caused.”

Rousey also revealed that she had drafted an apology to include in her latest memoir, but “my publisher begged me to take it out, saying it would overshadow everything else and do more harm than good.”

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