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Andre Arlovski isn’t done just yet.

At UFC 303, Arlovski fought for the final time in the UFC, losing a split decision to Martin Buday. The bout was Arlovski’s 42nd in the promotion, second all-time to Jim Miller, and only added to the various heavyweight records Arlovski holds, including fights, fight time, and significant strikes, among others. And heading into the bout, the former heavyweight champion says he knew it would be his final walk for the promotion.

“I knew it would be my last fight,” Arlovski said on The MMA Hour. “UFC proposed to do something but I didn’t want it because my chapter in the UFC is closed, but definitely not in my MMA career. That’s why I decided to do nothing. And yeah, it was last fight [in the UFC].

“That’s why I didn’t want to do any goodbye videos or whatever. But I do appreciate the UFC family, Dana [White], Hunter [Campbell]. [But] I’m not done fighting. I’m done with the UFC but I’m not done fighting.”

Arlovski was the last active UFC fighter who competed for the promotion before Zuffa LLC purchased it in 2001. Making his promotional debut at UFC 28 back in 2000, Arlovski spent most of the next 24 years under the UFC banner, save for a four-year stretch competing for a variety of promotions. That’s a long time to spend with one company. Even someone as stoic as “The Pitbull” wasn’t sure he’d be able to keep his emotions in check at UFC 303.

“Be honest with you, I thought I was going to be like a crying baby, I’m going to cry like a little bitch,” Arlovski said. “But as of today I sit down and this is not the end of life. Obviously I spent the biggest amount of time training and fighting in the UFC, but I didn’t sign a new contract with the UFC, I left the UFC, my chapter in the UFC is done, but life is not over.

“So like I said, I’m very excited, and actually I’m very happy with how I held [my feelings] when I left the octagon on my way back to the back to the doctor to check all the stuff from the fight. That was good.

“Of course, I got a little bit of emotion, and actually it’s funny, because right after the fight we got back to the hotel and First Round Management gave me a nice present, a nice ring with some diamonds and a pitbull logo. … [Abe Kawa] gave a speech and I got tears, I’m not going to lie, in my eyes.”

What comes next for Arlovski is still up in the air, though the former heavyweight champion insists he will keep fighting for a few more years.

“I want to beat a couple more records,” Arlovski said. “One, Bernard Hopkins, he fought at 48 in his last fight and he was a champion. He won that fight. Obviously Uncle Dana helped me to buy a new house, but I need to pay bills. I’ve got a newborn baby, so I need to do something a couple more years.”

Hopkins actually continued fighting into his 50s, even defending the IBF light heavyweight title until he was 49 years old, so at 45, Arlovski still has several years left to catch up to “The Executioner.” And given that, there’s also always the possibility that Arlovski may still return to UFC one day. He certainly is leaving the door open.

“My first UFC was UFC 28, and I actually thought if — it’s always a hope, right?” Arlovski said. “If I get another contract, I would love that my last fight in UFC would be UFC 328. 300 UFCs later. But who knows? We’ll see.”

But if that doesn’t happen, Arlovski is content with how his UFC career has played out, and has a lot of pride in what he’s accomplished.

“I can call myself really a fighter, I guess,” Arlovski said. “Fighting 24 years in the United States and almost 20 years in the best organization … 20 years in the best league. To see how it was in the beginning to right now, this is like, wow.”

Arlovski ends his UFC career with a record of 23-18 and one no-contest.

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Ige at the Sphere?
| BJPenn.com

Saint Denis will get another chance to break into the lightweight top ten against the crafty Moicano, and this time he’ll do it in front of a hometown crowd.

Benoit Saint-Denis is headed back home to Paris for his next fight, a five round affair against Renato Moicano.

Saint-Denis is coming off a tough loss to Dustin Poirier back in March, but the UFC still clearly sees a bright future for the 28 year old “God of War.” The promotion is putting him in the main event slot for their annual September foray to France, set this year for September 28th at the 15,000 seat Accor Arena.

It’s not a title shot, but a pretty nice consolation prize.

Verbal agreements for the bout were first reported by AG Fight, with MMA Junkie confirming contracts have now been signed.

Saint-Denis is 5-2 in the UFC and currently sits at No. 12 in the lightweight rankings. The No. 10 ranked Moicano is 11-5 and is currently on a three fight win streak. His last win was a thrilling come-from-behind victory over Jailin Turner at UFC 300. Given both men’s styles, this is going to be a wild battle that probably won’t make it the scorecards.

UFC France is just under three months away now, which means we should start getting more news as to who else will fight on the card. There’s plenty of hot local talent to choose from: Ciryl Gane headlined the last two Fight Nights in the country, and Manon Fiorot vs. Rose Namajunas was last year’s co-main.

Gane and Fiorot are both unbooked at the moment, so chances are good they’ll end up in France — unless UFC decides to match Manon up against champion Alexa Grasso for their big Noche UFC Sphere event a few weeks earlier. We’ll keep you updated as this latest Paris card shapes up.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Joe Pyfer’s first UFC loss taught him a valuable lesson: Don’t read the comments.

At UFC 303, Pyfer scored the fourth win of his UFC career, knocking out Marc-Andre Barriault in just 85 seconds. The fight was Pyfer’s first since losing to Jack Hermansson back in February, so most would assume Pyfer was on cloud nine in the wake of it; however, “Bodybagz” says that’s not the case, in part because of how he now views MMA fans.

“There’s really no high from this one,” Pyfer said on The MMA Hour.

“I don’t know what it is. I think I’m so disgusted with MMA fans that there’s really no joy in it for me now. I just feel like a lot of people are all fake now. So after getting shit on because I came up short in the decision, I just don’t have that — I don’t know. I’m just being honest, I don’t know.

“I was talking to my coach about it because there really is no high for me. I’m excited and I’m proud of myself. It was a stellar performance and I made the most money I’ve ever made in my career, and that is what I’m super happy about.”

Since joining UFC in 2022 off of the Contender Series, Pyfer has made an impact in short order, securing three knockout wins in his first three fights. The budding star then slotted in to face Hermansson in his first UFC main event and fell short, losing a unanimous decision after dominating the fight early. It was a tough setback for Pyfer professionally, but also personally, as Pyfer says fans were ruthless towards him following the loss.

“Everybody kind of said I got fraud checked, and it kind of rubbed me the wrong way,” Pyfer said. “I [don’t] think fraud check is I go out there and I fight the No. 10 guy in the world in my fourth fight in the UFC, unranked, and go five rounds with him, and was winning early and showing that I was the better boxer until I couldn’t keep the same pace, got hit in the eye, couldn’t see the guy for the rest of the fight. Credit to him, it’s because he caused damage. He hit me in the eye, it was a legal shot, and then he started, with his veteran skills, investing in that calf kick. Fifth round it was 2-2, I come out, I felt like I was going to start getting my momentum, and then he took me down. He switched it up.

“But my point is, everybody f*cking shit on me and said I got fraud checked and ‘salty man Joe’ and all this shit. I was like, yo, it’s fair. I deserve this because I now got both ends of the stick. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. I took a risk and it wasn’t the smartest risk, given the circumstances, but I’m proud of my performance, and I just had to learn that hate is something that’s always going to come in this sport no matter how successful we are, and it will come at a brutal cost of your mental health if you don’t learn to detach people who don’t matter’s opinions.”

Pyfer added that following the loss, he didn’t train for two months, both because he was upset with the fans and he was upset with himself and his performance. That’s not the case with this fight. For Pyfer, destroying Barriault and getting back on track was his way of sticking it to all those fans who ripped him earlier this year.

“I felt anger, I felt happy,” Pyfer said. “I like, there you go, motherf*ckers! Here’s your Salt Bae [does sprinkle motion with his hand], motherf*cker. Here’s all you jerk-offs that sat there and talked shit on me and f*cking harassed me for months, thinking you’re harassing me for months, while I just sat there. I kept quiet, I didn’t do one, single interview for this fight unless it was UFC mandatory. I kept my mouth shut, for the most part, until fight week and I said that I wouldn’t have much say until I whooped his ass, and then I did and I talked my shit.”

Pyfer is now 4-1 in UFC and called for a fight with Paul Craig next.

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An amateur MMA fighter from Northern Ireland will be facing severe consequences after trying to take out frustrations from a loss on his ex partner.

Carter Coulter pleaded guilty on July 3 at Craigavon Crown Court to charges of criminal damage, threats to kill, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Coulter was given a two-year sentence in which he will serve one year in prison and another year on license. The fighter also received a non-molestation order until July 3, 2027.

Coulter, competing in his second amateur MMA fight on October 30, 2022, was submitted by Nicky Gordon via D’Arce choke in the first round.

Hours later, Coulter attacked Dolores Gallagher in her own home, locking in a rear-naked choke and threatening to kill her with it. Gallagher was ultimately able to escape and get assistance from neighbors, according to Belfast Live.

Ex Of Irish MMA Fighter Hopes Sentencing Encourages Others To Leave Abusive Situations

Gallagher told the news outlet that people came back to their property afterward for drinks following Coulter’s fight. When everyone left, that’s when Coulter struck.

“He suddenly turned on me and attacked me, knocking me unconscious and dragging me into another room,” Gallagher said. “When I came round, he was standing there screaming at me, and I was terrified that something more serious was going to happen. He then went downstairs and started to sleep on the sofa, so I decided that I would try to sneak out of the house to safety. But as I was doing that, he woke up and then dragged me up the stairs into the bedroom where I begged for him to leave me alone and to not hurt me.

“He then attacked me again, hitting me over and over across my head, ribs and back before putting me into a rear-naked choke. As he was choking me, I started to see dots all over my vision and was certain that this was going to be the moment that I died, as he was whispering in my ear that he was going to kill me.”

Gallagher, who also trains MMA, was able to escape the chokehold and run to a neighbor, who notified police.

The victim added that she still suffers from the injuries to this day and expressed to Belfast Live frustration on what she feels was a light sentencing for her ex and attacker.

“When I was finally free from him, I have had this court case hanging over my head for nearly two years which has caused me further anguish,” Gallagher said. “I am glad that he has received a prison sentence for the attack, but I am disappointed that it was not a stronger sentence. He will lose a year of his life but I feel like I have lost five years of mine. I just hope that by speaking out and highlighting what type of a person he really is, I can make others aware of him and encourage others in a similar situation to find the strength to leave their abusers and get help.”

Continue Reading Irish MMA Fighter Jailed After Putting Ex-Partner In & Threatening To Kill Her With Rear-Naked Choke Following Loss at MMA News.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Alex Pereira has a big fan in heavyweight boxing star Anthony Joshua.

Joshua took time out of his weekend to lavish some praise on the UFC light heavyweight champion, tweeting that Pereira should compete in boxing someday. Pereira has become known for his fearsome, one-touch knockout power, which has carried him to world championships in multiple divisions in MMA and kickboxing.

An appreciative Pereira responded to Joshua, asking him who he thinks he should box.

See the social media exchange below.

“I’m honored you think so,” Pereira wrote in response to Joshua’s compliment. “It’s always been my dream, I’m 37 I cannot make a career in it so who do you recommend I fight?”

Pereira is no stranger to competing in the squared circle, having been a standout kickboxer for years before making his UFC debut in late 2021. He also has one boxing match on his résumé from June 2017, a third-round TKO win.

In his most recent outing, Pereira scored a second win over Jiri Prochazka, defeating his rival via second-round TKO to successfully defend his light heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 303. Nine of Pereira’s 11 MMA wins have come by KO/TKO.

Joshua’s boxing career continues to chug along as he has won four straight fights. This September, he has the chance to become a heavyweight champion again when he fights Daniel Dubois for an IBF title recently vacated by Oleksandr Usyk.

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