Beneil Dariush | Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images Beneil Dariush resumed sparring in March after taking some significant time off from hard sessions in the gym, Kings MMA coach Rafael Cordeiro recently revealed on MMA Fighting’s Trocação Franca podcast. Dariush had an eight-fight winning streak snapped by Charles Oliveira and Arman Tsarukyan in 2023, both via stoppage due to strikes — after which, Cordeiro asked the 34-year-old lightweight to take some time off. It wasn’t the only time Dariush suffered head trauma in 2023. “Benny had a very rough year last year,” Cordeiro said ..read more

Just days away from BKFC KnuckleMania IV, Mike Perry and Thiago Alves came face to face for a tense staredown following the pre-fight press conference. The former UFC fighters headline the first ever BKFC card in Los Angeles after the California State Athletic Commission voted to sanction bare-knuckle fighting in the state. Perry looks to stay undefeated in bare-knuckle competition after he finished former UFC champion Eddie Alvarez in his most recent outing. As for Alves, he also holds a perfect record in BKFC at 2-0 including a middleweight title win back in 2021. In the co-main event, Mick ..read more

Thomas Lakes, MMA Fighting The UFC’s upcoming return to Louisville, Ky. has 13 fights booked already with a main event still to be determined. The event, which takes place at the KFC Yum Center on June 8, serves as the UFC’s first card in Louisville in 13 years with the last card there headlined by Diego Sanchez vs. Martin Kampmann. While rumors have swirled about the headliner for the upcoming UFC Louisville card, nothing is official just yet. In the meantime, the promotion announced a number of matchups booked for the card including two-time light heavyweight title challenger Dominick Reyes ..read more

Congratulations are in order for Paddy Pimblett. The rising UFC lightweight star announced this week that he and his wife Laura have welcomed two baby girls into the world. According to Pimblett, Betsy and Margot were born April 17. Check out Pimblett’s announcement below. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Paddy THE BADDY Pimblett (@theufcbaddy) “[April 17] the day our lives changed forever,” Pimblett wrote on Instagram. “All worth it for yous [two] perfect little girls Betsy and Margot Pimblett.” Pimblett, 29, has won seven straight bouts, including all five of his octagon a ..read more

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC Curtis Blaydes learned a long time ago that just because a fight should happen in the UFC, doesn’t mean it will happen. Following a knockout of top prospect Jailton Almeida in March, the perennial heavyweight contender immediately started calling for a rematch with current interim champion Tom Aspinall. Their first encounter ended in less-than-spectacular fashion after Aspinall blew out his knee just 15 seconds into the opening round. Even though Blaydes’ record reads that as a win, Blaydes doesn’t actually count it towards his résumé, but that also leaves some ..read more

Shaquille O’Neal at a UFC event | Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images Shaquille O’Neal has Vitor Belfort to thank for his lifetime love affair with MMA. One of the greatest basketball players ever and among the biggest media personalities on the planet, Shaq, is also a huge MMA fan. “The Big Aristotle” started training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and kickboxing back in 2000 and regularly attends UFC events. His passion for the sport even led to O’Neal becoming an unlockable character in UFC Undisputed 2010, and apparently it all started thanks to a chance encounter with Belfor ..read more

Islam Makhachev | Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images Tatsuro Taira puts his unbeaten record on the line against a fellow flyweight prospect. Taira’s management announced Thursday that he is set to face Joshua Van (10-1) at UFC 302 on June 1 in Newark, N.J. The two fighters share the same representation. This marks an opponent change for Van, who was originally scheduled to fight Sumudaerji. The Chinese standout withdrew from the contest for undisclosed reasons. Taira also sees a change in his schedule after losing opponent Tim Elliott to an undisclosed injury. He was expected to f ..read more

Ronda Rousey and Joe Rogan | Esther Lin, MMA Fighting Ronda Rousey isn’t expecting any glowing pieces from the MMA media anytime soon. The former UFC star has found herself back in the headlines recently as she promotes her recently released autobiography, Our Fight. In various interviews, Rousey has spoken of the concussion issues that not only contributed to her infamous loss to Holly Holm at UFC 193, but also led to the end of her fighting career. Rousey suffered a pair of brutal losses in her last two UFC fights, which led to much criticism from fans and media, something that she hasn’t fo ..read more

The UFC returns following a weekend off to digest the memorable UFC 300 event, but BKFC’s KnuckleMania 4 will likely get top billing in the interest department this weekend, most notably due to Mike Perry’s return to the ring against Thiago Alves. On an all-new edition of Between the Links, the panel discusses both UFC Vegas 91 and KnuckleMania cards this weekend, the UFC headliner between Matheus Nicolau and Alex Perez, Perry’s star power and future in BKFC, along with Ben Rothwell vs. Todd Duffee. Additionally, topics include Dana White’s victory lap against the media and what can be taken ..read more

Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images Michael Bisping says he would come out of retirement to cap off his trilogy with Luke Rockhold. Rockhold recently knocked out Joe Schilling in the third round at Karate Combat 45, which Bisping was doing a livestream event for on his YouTube channel. A few days later, Bisping addressed some fans asking him about doing a third fight with Rockhold to figure out who the better man is, once and for all. “Luke Rockhold, I was doing a live to [his fight], and everyone was like, ‘You’ve got to do the trilogy,’” Bisping said on Believe You Me. “I’ll do Karate Co ..read more