Conor McGregor was out of the octagon for five full years, yet he still headlined UFC 329 at the T-Mobile Arena on July 11, 2026. Max Holloway took the win after McGregor suffered a knee injury just 1:09 into the opening round, dropping the Irishman’s record to 22-7. FightMatrix currently puts McGregor all the way down at No. 172 in the welterweight division. And yet, the UFC made his comeback the main attraction of International Fight Week. That massive gap speaks for itself.
Sean Strickland Signs with Rainbet, Joining the Platform’s Ambassador Roster
American UFC fighter Sean Strickland, 35, has signed an agreement with the online casino and sportsbook platform Rainbet. The two-time UFC middleweight champion has joined the brand’s growing list of ambassadors as the company actively develops its MMA betting vertical.
The company positions itself as a sportsbook oriented toward UFC fans and is strengthening its presence in the MMA world through media integrations and partnerships with active fighters from the promotion.
Islam Makhachev’s Only Loss Revisited: What UFC 330 Revealed About His Weaknesses
Islam Makhachev left Philadelphia with his belt, a record 17th straight UFC win and a bruised face. Ian Machado Garry lost on the cards, but one judge had it 48-47, and for the first time in years the champion looked hittable. That reopened an old question: was his lone defeat in 2015 a fluke, or did it show a flaw that the right opponent can still find?
UFC Brazil: From Natalia Silva’s Win to What Awaits Us With Oliveira, Poatan & UFC in General
The UFC women’s flyweight division has a new champion. Natalia Silva won against Wang Cong at Delta Center in Salt Lake City during the festivities of UFC 332. The two ladies headlined the evening, and they delivered. The belt suddenly became available after former champ Valentina Shevchenko vacated it due to an unforeseen, and for now, mysterious injury.
MMA is massive in Brazil, and the nation is celebrating another champion in its ranks. Unfortunately, during the same event, Deiveson Figueiredo couldn’t beat Payton Talbott and lost in a bout that lasted just over two minutes. Figueiredo, a former two-time men’s flyweight titleholder, was no match for Talbott, who knocked him out during the first round.
Former UFC Fighter Tim Kennedy Survives Three Gunshot Wounds in Deadly Congo Ambush, Now Recovering at Walter Reed
The former UFC middleweight and U.S. Army Green Beret was reportedly shot three times in the leg during a Sept. 17 ambush in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo that left about 20 people dead or wounded, survived a lengthy evacuation and eventually reached Walter Reed, prompting prayers from Anderson Silva and members of the combat sports community.
Bethesda, Maryland – Tim Kennedy spent much of his adult life moving between two worlds where danger was expected. He fought elite middleweights inside the UFC and served in U.S. Army Special Forces outside of it, building one of the most unusual résumés in combat sports. Nearly a decade after his final appearance inside the Octagon, however, Kennedy has survived an encounter far removed from anything governed by a referee, a commission or a five-minute clock.
Andrew Carswell is a combat sports columnist and college writing professor, based in Las Vegas, NV, whose work examines the intersection of fighting, media, business, and culture. His commentary and analysis have been featured in various magazines, newspapers, and media outlets, including Yahoo! News, and USA TODAY. Blending journalistic insight and experience with a fan’s perspective, Carswell writes about the fight game as both a cultural phenomenon and a global business.
UFC Fight Night 291: Joaquin Buckley vs. Mike Malott — Fight Preview and Prediction
October 17, 2026 | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | Welterweight
[#11 WW] [#10 UFC] Joaquin Buckley (21-8-0) vs. [#17 WW] [#13 UFC] Mike Malott (14-2-1)
Fight Preview
Joaquin Buckley faces Canadian contender Mike Malott in the main event of UFC Fight Night 291 in Edmonton. The matchup pits Buckley’s explosive striking and knockout power against Malott’s versatility and recent winning momentum.
Buckley has extensive experience against high-level opposition, while Malott enters the contest on a four-fight winning streak. Both fighters have credible paths to victory, making this a competitive welterweight matchup.
The central question is whether Malott can combine striking with effective grappling to limit Buckley’s most dangerous offensive weapons.
MMA Promoter | Event Organizer | Analyst
Founder & President of Real Fight Promotion (RFP) – one of the longest-running and most recognized MMA organizations in Ukraine. Organizer of 100+ MMA events. Contributor, analyst, and Trusted Promoter collaborating with leading global MMA platforms.
The heavyweights who have rivalled Fury and Joshua
Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua have dominated British heavyweight boxing for the past decade, and their meeting is the fight fans have wanted for most of it. It is now confirmed for 11 December, and anyone checking the Fury v Joshua odds will know that neither man got this far unopposed. A handful of heavyweights have matched them, and some have beaten them. These are the rivals who have tested both men the hardest.
Sean Strickland Threatens to Vacate UFC Middleweight Title, Move to 205 and Chase Jake Paul Fight
The two-time middleweight champion says he is willing to surrender his belt, move to 205 pounds and burn through the remaining fights on his UFC contract before pursuing Jake Paul, an extraordinary possibility emerging as negotiations for a Nassourdine Imavov rematch remain stalled and the chaos around Strickland continues to grow.
Sean Strickland fought his way back to the UFC middleweight championship only five months ago. Now, he is openly contemplating giving it away.
In the latest and most significant escalation of a growing dispute with the UFC over compensation, Strickland says he is considering vacating the 185-pound championship, moving to light heavyweight and fighting through the remainder of his contract as quickly as possible before pursuing opportunities outside the promotion. For a fighter who reclaimed the title from Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 328 in May, the possibility represents an extraordinary reversal. Strickland spent years fighting his way back toward the belt, finally regained it, and is now publicly questioning whether keeping it is worth the financial restrictions that accompany remaining champion.
Andrew Carswell is a combat sports columnist and college writing professor, based in Las Vegas, NV, whose work examines the intersection of fighting, media, business, and culture. His commentary and analysis have been featured in various magazines, newspapers, and media outlets, including Yahoo! News, and USA TODAY. Blending journalistic insight and experience with a fan’s perspective, Carswell writes about the fight game as both a cultural phenomenon and a global business.
Pat Brown takes two belts in his seventh fight
Pat Brown needed just seven professional fights to collect Britain’s biggest titles. On 19 September at the Co-op Live arena in Manchester, the 26-year-old knocked out the unbeaten John Hedges in the sixth round and took the vacant British and Commonwealth cruiserweight belts.
Van vs. Pantoja 2 Was a Fight of the Year Contender. Here’s How the Odds Actually Moved
At 0:12 into the first round, Gable Steveson was still favored on most boards. By 0:13, he was face down on the canvas.
That’s the number that sticks. Sean Sharaf, a plus-money underdog most books had barely bothered to price, ended Steveson’s night in the exact time it takes to read this sentence out loud. It happened on the UFC 331 undercard, hours before Joshua Van and Alexandre Pantoja produced the kind of five-round war that gets Fight of the Year votes before the scorecards are even read out. Van won a clean unanimous decision. Pantoja pushed him the entire way. And in between those two results, the live betting markets did something worth studying on their own.