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UFC Welterweight champion Leon Edwards has never expressed any interest in rematching Belal Muhammad. The two squared off in March 2021, and Edwards dominated the first round before an eye poke early in the second ended the bout as a “No Contest.” “Rocky” must feel satisfied with that early success, even if most of 20 minutes still remained on the clock.

After his successful title defense over Colby Covington at UFC 296, Edwards would rather jump weight classes next for a more marketable super fight than fight “Bully” again. Alternatively, his team would rather see him fight Gilbert Burns next … even though that’s the man Muhammad last beat back in May!

Muhammad, who currently rides a 10-fight unbeaten streak, is clearly a deserving contender in terms of merit, and his five-round win over “Durinho” was supposed to officially secure him a shot at gold. In his response to the latest dismissal from Team Edwards, Muhammad has revealed he’s been promised the next shot by UFC CEO Dana White.

He also thinks Edwards’ disinterest has him looking fearful.

Leon’s opinion doesn’t matter … his coach doesn’t matter … the only person I care about is Dana and he gave me his word … that’s all that matters … we’re next and the fact that they’re showing fear only gives me more confidence … you should be afraid

Given Shavkat Rakhmonov’s ankle injury, there’s really no other obvious alternative for Edwards’ next title defense. 155-pound king Islam Makhachev wants his own super fight opportunity, but there are plenty of elite Lightweight contenders waiting their shot at his crown too. So, while Muhammad seems like the logical move, fighters have certainly been burned off promises for more marketable fights in the past.

UFC 300 is fast-approaching.

Insomnia

An adjustment to the first UFC event of 2024:

Chronically online folks are upset about Charles Oliveira’s belt promotion because Muay Thai traditionally doesn’t award belts in Thailand, but … plenty of Brazilian gyms do! Who cares?!? Good for “Do Bronx.”

If UFC doesn’t (rightfully) force Tony Ferguson into retirement, this feels like the match up to make. Or maybe Jim Miller at UFC 300?

Kazakhstan loves Shavkat Rakhmonov! Sure looks like star potential to me.

On one hand, this was a really poor idea that probably ruined this dude’s life. On the other, it was a pretty decent Jorge Masvidal impression.

Sparring Ilia Topuria looks like a miserable proposition.

Wrestling legend (both kinds!) Kurt Angle reacts to a new meme.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Pre-fight injury or just a couple insanely hard low kicks? Impossible to say.

Shane Campbell’s UFC career didn’t go great, but “Shaolin” always had some slick stand up.

Showed the left to load up the right.

Random Land

Extreme sports for a cause.

Midnight Music: Ballad, 1960

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.

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Off the back of his seventh consecutive loss at UFC 296 over the course of last weekend, former interim lightweight champion, Tony Ferguson’s recent downfall in the Octagon may be a direct result of a lack of sparring – according to former title challenger, Chael Sonnen.

Ferguson, a former interim lightweight champion and perennial division contender, featured on the main card of UFC 296 over the course of last weekend in his second appearance of the year, dropping a one-sided unanimous decision loss to Paddy Pimblett.

Tying former two-weight UFC champion, B.J. Penn for the longest concurrent losing skid in the Octagon with his seventh consecutive blemish, Ferguson insisted, however, despite encouragement from Dana White, that he would not consider retiring from mixed martial arts competition. 

“Love my fans & supporters you all are f*ckin’ fire,” Tony Ferguson posted on his official Instagram. “Met lots of you tonight, keep the faith MF’s. One foot in front of the other b*tches, remember what I said crew – champ.”

Tony Ferguson brushes off calls for retirement 

Insisting he would not be retiring from combat sports – Oxnard veteran, Ferguson claimed those who called for him to do so were just “casuals”, however, a lack of sparring and live-action preparation with other fighters for his bouts, could be the reason for his losing run, according to ex-UFC title challenger, Sonnen.

“Tony Ferguson is the same age as (Stephen) ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson,” Chael Sonnen said on his YouTube channel. “Now, when you have a fresh memory in your mind because you just saw them both fight, did they look anything similar?”

“The reason it looked the way that it looked, the reason he (Tony Ferguson) was having a hard time with range, he’s missing his opponent, the reason: he doesn’t spar,” Sonnen explained. (H/T MMA on Point)

Do you agree with Chael Sonnen’s take on Tony Ferguson’s skid?

LowKickMMA.com

Since stepping into the octagon and competing under the UFC banner for the first time back in 2020, Tom Aspinall has solidified himself as one of the best heavyweights on the planet.

The Brit has looked almost flawless since then, though he has been criticized for having glaring flaws in his game, which the star astonishingly agrees with.

While sitting down with popular British YouTuber True Geordie, the UK fan-favorite revealed that he likely won’t fight Jon Jones, despite it being his dream opponent. Aspinall expects the heavyweight king to defend his throne against Stipe Miocic before bowing out of the sport.

“There can’t be two heavyweight champions. There can’t be. This isn’t boxing.” Aspinall said amid the uncertainty in his weight class. “There’s one guy, there’s one face, one name, and let’s find out who that is.”

“I’d be surprised if we got to fight. I would love it… I think he’s smart. I think he’s smart. And if the shoe was on the other foot, I wouldn’t fight me either. And that’s not me bigging myself up, it’s just like why would you not fight a guy that’s 42, 43, [who has] a million miles on the clock and then back door it as opposed to fighting this guy who’s just steamrolling everybody.”

“I think it’s smart. I don’t think he’s scared. It’s Jon Jones, mate. He’s not scared of anybody but I think he’s just really smart… I want my shot, simple as that. I think I’m the f***ing number one heavyweight in the world right now. I truly, truly believe it. Let me prove it, that’s all I’m asking.”

Related: Tom Aspinall wants to unify titles against Jon Jones to prevent UFC becoming like boxing

The heavyweight has come under scrutiny in recent times as fans believe he is susceptible to being knocked out. He addressed the comments, admitting that he is working hard to eradicate the mistakes in his game.

“I agree, my chin is in the air. That’s something I’m working on. I have bad habits, same as anybody else. I’m training every day to make them better… I think you can learn from anybody. And I can see my bad habits just as much as anybody else. I’m not going to sit here and be like, ‘I am the ultimate complete finished product right now.'”

“I feel like I’m going to, even when I’m retired from fighting, I’m still going to be trying to improve my martial arts skills forever. I’m a lifelong martial artist, this thing never ends. I’m never going to be the complete fighter, I’m never going to be the complete martial artist.” 

“To those people that say yeah my chins in the air, yeah I shouldn’t have took this shot, that shot, I do this wrong, that wrong. Mate, I can see it more than anybody else. I’m my own biggest critic, you don’t have to tell me the bad habits I’m making. I love the sport of MMA, I love martial arts. I study martial arts. I study myself more than I study anybody else and I know what I need to work on and I’m working on it every day.”

Check out the entire Tom Aspinall appearance on the True Geordie Podcast in the video below.

MMAWeekly.com | UFC and MMA News, Results, Rumors, and Videos

Devin Haney has his sights set on Ryan Garcia.

The former undisputed lightweight and current WBC super lightweight champion confirmed on The MMA Hour on Monday that his and Garcia’s teams are in talks for the two to square off in the near future. Haney is coming off a one-sided title fight win over Regis Prograis, while Garcia recently successfully moved up in weight with a win over Oscar Duarte.

An argument could be made that Garcia needs to compete a few more times in his new division before facing Haney, but the champ welcomes Garcia as his next challenger.

“That’s something that we’re talking about,” Haney said. “We’re in negotiations with Oscar and Ryan, Ryan’s lawyer, Ryan’s team. It could very much be what’s next.”

Haney’s calling the shots now after his dismantling of Prograis. The 25-year-old changed divisions after a trio of title fights that saw him defeat George Kambosos Jr. twice and Vasiliy Lomachenko. His bout with Prograis was a one-fight deal with former partners Matchroom Boxing.

He plans to continue working with Matchroom to set up the Garcia matchup, though it’s still too early to tell what parties will have to be involved to make it happen.

“We’re still in the beginning stages of negotiations, so we’ve just got to see,” Haney said. “But definitely Matchroom is part of the team for sure.”

Another option for Haney is fellow undefeated fighter Gervonta Davis. “Tank” defeated Garcia by seventh-round knockout this past April in a highly anticipated bout and has held titles at super lightweight, lightweight, and super featherweight.

Should that bout materialize in the future, Haney won’t be dropping back down to lightweight for it.

“It’s a huge fight,” Haney said. “The Gervonta Davis fight is the biggest fight in boxing today and Ryan Garcia is not too far behind, so one of those two fights for sure.

“My thing now is I’ve accomplished everything in the lightweight division. I became undisputed, I got all the belts, I did all that. Now it’s about making the biggest fights happen for the most money and that’s a formality.”

At the moment, Haney said there have been no negotiations with Davis’ team. He’s more than happy to set up a fight with Garcia first—Haney is targeting a March or April date for his next fight—which he sees as both an important fight on its own and a means to an end.

“[Davis is] a fight that I would love, but nothing has really taken off,” Haney said. “His team hasn’t reached out to us or anything like that. They said that they need to send us an offer and they’ll be the ones reaching out and doing that, but nobody’s reached out so right now we’re on to Ryan Garcia. … I’ve been calling for these guys for a long time. It’s only a matter of time until I share the ring with all of them.”

“That’s the No. 1 guy on his résumé, is Ryan Garcia,” Haney added. “So once I beat him then my résumé is only going to get bigger and bigger. Like I said, it’s one of the biggest fights in boxing, it’s a huge fight.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Chael Sonnen is widely credited for ushering in a new era of trash talk in the UFC. His work on the microphone is responsible in part for his three title shots and the inspiration to stars such as Conor McGregor.

Sonnen has said — and still says — some of the most outlandish (and glaringly false) things on the microphone. But he will not curse, unless he’s playing a character on film. That is his personal line, as relatively small as it is.

As to the lines others cross, Sonnen believes the audience — not the promoters or regulators — should be the ones deciding what is in and out of bounds. So when he thinks of what Colby Covington said to Leon Edwards before UFC 296, he personally doesn’t agree with it.

“Yeah, with the dad comment, of course he did,” Sonnen said Wednesday on The MMA Hour when asked whether Covington went too far in his controversial comments about Edwards’ late father.

But to Sonnen, there’s a big difference between the theory of policing speech and actually doing it. Although he agrees that fines and other punishments are one way, there’s too much ambiguity and room for interpretation to be consistent in the way it’s applied.

There’s a much simpler way, and that’s through the crowd.

“If the audience doesn’t like it, because make sure you understand, even if you wrote this down, what you can and can’t do, which, for a large part, is done — [UFC CEO] Dana [White] tells you, ‘Don’t go out there and curse,’ and it’s to the point even on the live broadcast, if you curse in your post-fight speech, you’re not getting a bonus, so if you win a ‘Fight of the Night,’ I’m taking it from you, do not curse — but that’s as far as you can go,” Sonnen said. “And the reason I bring four-letter words up expressly is, Colby didn’t do that. So Colby would have gotten around that, had you had it written in.

“Now, what he said was very mean. It was designed to be mean. But then the payment is the audience. So when you say you think that Colby will respect it, I hear you on that, but I think that other fighters have observed this and seen this, and that’s where you start to see where that line is. The line moves all the time.”

A decade ago, the UFC attempted to draw a line when it crafted the UFC Code of Conduct, which gave the promotion broad authority to punish fighters for offensive speech. Several fighters ran afoul of it, with one, former WEC champ Miguel Torres, even getting released from his contract for parroting a joke about sexual assault on social media.

In recent years, however, the promotion has taken a far more hands-off approach to what fighters say in and outside the octagon. White has leaned on the idea that the UFC is a place for free expression, even if fighters have been limited from certain types of expression such as bringing national flags into the octagon. White wouldn’t say it outright, but he indicated that banning flags was a response to the Russia/Ukraine war. The UFC’s broadcast partner, ESPN, has also edited out at least one expression of support for Palestine amid its ongoing conflict with Israel.

Such moves appear to be an acknowledgement from the UFC that there are at least certain lines that shouldn’t be crossed. Sonnen sees them as a sign of the times.

“There was a guy that used to sing back in the seventies that was my mother’s favorite,” Sonnen said. “His name was Elvis Presley. And all the parents, the mothers and the fathers would stop the high-school girls from watching Elvis or going to his concerts, because at some point in that three-hour performance, he would shift his hips, and not in a sexual manner, but he would just shift his hips. But that was the most forbidden.

“You remember a guy they tried to ban from wrestling called ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin because he said the word ass on a pay-per-view. So I’m sharing with you, what is over the line or where the line is, constantly gets moving. Some of it’s even within your delivery, but it’s not like Colby’s going to come out and say, ‘No, that was a great thing to do. I’d love to go back and do it 10 more times.’ You test things, you learn, and you move on.

“There should not be a rule. I guess that’s what I’m saying. I hate that idea. Do not let us fall into that, man. This world is a weak place. Words just simply can’t hurt you. They just can’t.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Sean Strickland is a bold and controversial man who often comes under scrutiny for some things he says. 

His raw nature has attracted him a cult following online but a rumored recent appearance on Theo Von’s podcast seemingly brought out a different side to the MMA star’s personality. According to some reports, the UFC middleweight champion got serious about his past and shed a tear while doing so.

Well, those rumors appear true as Sean Strickland himself has come out and confirmed them. In a post on social media, the 32-year-old spoke out on the struggles of PTSD and the many different ways it can affect those suffering from it.

“PTSD can make a strong man weak or a weak man strong. Years and years of abuse just changes you as a man. The hate just doesn’t go away. The sad truth is I’m one of millions, but I only matter because there is a camera in my face… Most people just suffer in silence and drown their demons in alcohol or drugs.”

“Theo, thanks for saying you’d delete the video for me. I wanted you to, hell, [I] still kinda do but at the end of the day.. it’s life…”

PTSD can make a strong man weak or a weak man strong.. Years and years of abuse just changes you as a man.. The hate just doesn't go away. The sad truth is I'm one of millions but I only matter because there is a camera in my face… Most people just suffer in silence and drown… pic.twitter.com/H24KDko6GV

— Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA) December 19, 2023

Strickland has been open about his troubled past many times before and, as he somewhat states above, he can be a voice for those suffering in silence. According to reports, about 5 out of every 100 adults suffer from PTSD each year, with a large amount of those having to deal with their trauma alone.

Having lived with post-traumatic stress disorder for the entirety of his adult life, the California native has proved that you can rise above it and accomplish the unthinkable, as he did when capturing his UFC title earlier this year.

Related: UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland thought someone was stealing his car | Video

When is Sean Strickland fighting next?

Sean Strickland has risen to significant heights in popularity over the years and that was only further escalated when he out-worked Israel Adesanya to capture the UFC middleweight strap.

Although he hasn’t stepped foot into the cage since his title victory, the champion is booked and ready to put his gold on the line in the first quarter of 2024.

As the headlining figure at UFC 297, Sean Strickland will welcome the surging powerhouse Dricus Du Plessis into the octagon. The two will get to settle their differences when the event gets underway on January 20.

MMAWeekly.com | UFC and MMA News, Results, Rumors, and Videos

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Ian Machado Garry still has the confidence of the oddsmakers despite all the recent drama.

Fans were looking forward to seeing the return of the undefeated 13-0 Irish Welterweight star at UFC 296 this past weekend (Dec. 16, 2023). Whether that was to see him win or lose, neither happened as Garry was forced to withdraw from his bout against Vicente Luque due to pneumonia.

Garry, 26, was rebooked before the week ended, but not for a fight with Luque. Instead, Garry is now again set to collide with his fellow contender, Geoff Neal, at UFC 299 on March 9, 2024. The pair was supposed to fight at UFC 292 in August 2023 until Neal fell out of the bout and was replaced by Neil Magny. Garry won the bout via unanimous decision and now will prepare a second time for Neal. Per BetOnline.ag, Garry has opened as the biggest betting favorite out of all four fights announced by UFC CEO, Dana White, after UFC 296. The other two listed below were already official.

• Marlon Vera +160, (C)Sean O’Malley -185
• Jack Della Maddalena +130, Gilbert Burns -150
• Curtis Blaydes -108, Jailton Almeida -112
• Geoff Neal +175, Ian Machado Garry -205
• Song Yadong +140, Petr Yan -160
• Michael Page +121, Kevin Holland -141

When Neal makes his return against Garry, he’ll look to rebound off the first finish loss of his UFC career when he suffered a third round standing rear-naked choke defeat against Shavkat Rakhmonov (watch highlights) at UFC 285 in March 2023.

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Fights come together fast these days, and if you blink, you can easily miss them. In Fight Roundup, we bring you the latest reported matchups to keep you up to date with what’s on the horizon.

All bouts featured have been officially announced or confirmed with MMA Fighting’s Guilherme Cruz, Mike Heck, and Damon Martin via sources with knowledge of the matchups.

Photo by George Tewkesbury/PA Images via Getty Images

Dan Ige vs. Lerone Murphy

Dan Ige is once again the veteran test for an emerging contender.

After dropping a tough decision loss to Bryce Mitchell this past September, “50K” already has his next assignment as he takes on undefeated featherweight Lerone Murphy (13-0-1) at UFC Vegas 86 on Feb. 10. The matchup was first reported by ESPN.

Ige (17-7), currently No. 15 in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings at 145 pounds, has consistently been paired up with the best that his division has to offer and Murphy is no exception. Since battling Zubaira Tukhugov to a split draw in his UFC debut, Murphy has won five straight fights, most recently earning a decision nod over Josh Culibao this past July.

Several other bouts are officially scheduled for the Feb. 10 UFC APEX card. See the updated lineup below.

• Michael Johnson vs. Darrius Flowers
• Trevin Giles vs. Carlos Prates
• Loma Lookboonmee vs. Bruna Brasil
• Zac Pauga vs. Bogdan Guskov
• Devin Clark vs. Marcin Prachnio
• Shayilan Nuerdanbieke vs. Hyder Amil
• Max Griffin vs. Jeremiah Wells
• Damir Hadzovic vs. Bolaji Oki
• Daniel Marcos vs. Aoriqileng

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Themba Gorimbo vs. Kiefer Crosbie

Themba Gorimbo has a chance to capitalize on his newfound game when he fights Kiefer Crosbie at UFC Vegas 85 on Feb. 3.

The welterweight matchup was recently announced by the UFC.

Gorimbo (11-4) has made plenty of headlines over the past few months after the story of his extraordinary journey to the UFC caught the attention of Hollywood star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Johnson went as far as to gift Gorimbo a house in Miami this past summer.

Inside the cage, Gorimbo scored his first UFC win this past May, going three rounds with Takashi Sato en route to a unanimous decision win.

Crosbie (10-4) is no stranger to celebrity himself. The Irishman counts UFC superstar Conor McGregor as a teammate and one of his biggest supporters. After having previously made several appearances for Bellator, Crosbie debuted with the UFC against Kevin Jousset at UFC 293 in September where he lost to Jousset by first-round submission.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Felipe dos Santos vs. Victor Altamirano

Felipe dos Santos is getting a second chance to make a first impression.

The 23-year-old Brazilian meets Victor Altamirano (12-3) in a flyweight bout at UFC Mexico City on Feb. 24, five months after losing an entertaining decision to top contender Manel Kape at UFC 294.

Ag. Fight was first to report the matchup.

Dos Santos (7-1, 1 NC) was called upon on short notice to replace an injured Kai Kara-France against Kape and though Kape earned the hard-fought win, “Lipe Detona” impressed in his first UFC appearance.

Altamirano has seen mixed results in the UFC since winning a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2021. He lost a split decision to Carlos Hernandez, rebounded with consecutive wins over Daniel Lacerda and Vinicus Salvador, and then fell to 2-2 in the UFC with a loss to Tim Elliott.

UFC Mexico City is headlined by a flyweight bout between two-time champion Brandon Moreno and Amir Albazi.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Ode Osbourne vs. Jafel Filho
Nora Cornolle vs. Montserrat Rendon

There’s still a few days left in 2023, but the UFC is already working to fill its March lineups.

Flyweights Ode Osbourne (12-6) and Jafel Filho (15-3) are set to fight on March 16, at a UFC event with a location still to be determined. Osbourne looks to find consistency in the new year after going 1-1 in 2023, with his most recent outing being a submission loss to Asu Almbaev.

Filho also split a pair of fights this year, though he is coming off of a win after submitting Daniel Barez inside of a round. “Pastor” made a splash in his UFC debut against Muhammad Mokaev this past March at UFC 286, putting a scare into Mokaev with a near-submission before being forced to tap to a neck crank in Round 3.

The flyweight bout was announced by Osbourne and Filho’s shared management.

Montserrat Rendon’s next fight was announced by the same management team as she fights Nora Cornolle (7-1) on March 23, another UFC date that awaits a location.

In her UFC debut, Rendon (6-0) stayed undefeated with a split decision win over Tamires Vidal. Prior to that fight, Mexico’s “Monster” had competed for Invicta FC and Combate Global.

Cornolle—currently No. 14 at 135 pounds in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings—also impressed in her UFC debut, scoring a unanimous decision over veteran Joselyne Edwards. “Wonder” has won seven straight fights since losing her first pro bout in 2021.

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