Ben Rothwell is focused on capturing the BKFC heavyweight championship, but sees some compelling potential fights on the horizon. If all goes perfectly for Rothwell, he will defeat Todd Duffee on Saturday at BKFC: KnuckleMania 4 at Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, then go on to challenge the winner of the night’s co-main event between champ Lorenzo Hunt and Mick Terrill. Once that’s done, Rothwell, 42, said he will assess the state of his career. “I think if I go out and perform the way I have been, I think there’s a very good chance I can get myself to a title shot,” Rothwell told MMA Junkie R ..read more

CHICAGO – After his first win in 28 months, Murad Ramazanov gave credit to the standout team he trains with in Russia. Dagestan’s Ramazanov (12-0) stayed unbeaten Friday when he submitted Laureano Staropoli (13-6) a little more than four minutes into their fight to open the 2024 PFL welterweight season. The win gave Ramazanov 6 points in the standings, leaving him in the ideal position heading into his second regular season fight. After his win over Staropoli, who missed weight for the fight, Ramazanov said the team formerly led by Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, who died in 2020, has helped sha ..read more

On the latest episode of “Spinning Back Clique,” the panel reacts to the ongoing trash talk and potential fight between UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway. Following Holloway’s big knockout win at UFC 300, the Hawaiian called out Topuria, which prompted a response from the champion. Since, the back-and-forth has escalated in intensity between the two, and it’s become one of the biggest current stories in MMA. So should the UFC give Holloway a title shot at 145 pounds? Is this the right fight to make given the wide range of options for both? MMA Junkie’s Brian “Goze” Garci ..read more

British boxing champion Savannah Marshalll’s opponent for her debut in mixed martial arts has been revealed – and it’s someone right at her level. The PFL announced Monday that Marshall will meet Brazilian Mirela Vargas at 2024 PFL Europe 2. The event, which will be headlined by Marshall’s debut, is set for June 8 at Utilita Arena in New Castle, England. Vargas, 26, is 1-2 as a professional fighter. She won her pro debut in 2021 by 12-second knockout, but then she didn’t compete again until 2023, losing by submission in both bouts under the Iron Man MMA banner. Marshall, 32, is the IBF, WBA, W ..read more

We don’t know whether or to what extent Ryan Garcia is off his rocker. He exhibited signs of serious issues in the lead-up to his fight against Devin Haney on Saturday, acting erratically at every turn, but at least some of that appears to have been an act to sell the fight and himself. And the fact he missed weight by 3.2 pounds, which was unprofessional and cost him $1.5 million, raised further questions about his mindset. What we DO know now with certainty is that Garcia can fight. Garcia gave one of the most stunning performances in recent years at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, overcoming w ..read more

John Kavanagh assures that Conor McGregor’s focus on fighting has never wavered. McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) returns from an almost three-year long layoff against Michael Chandler (23-8 MMA, 2-3 UFC) in a welterweight bout at UFC 303 June 29 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+). Outside of rehabilitating his broken leg, McGregor has kept busy with numerous things – including his acting debut in the movie “Road House,” which was released March 21 on Prime Video. Kavanagh likes what he sees out of his star student as he preps for his highly anticipated comeback. “He’s l ..read more

CHICAGO – Timur Khizriev got the win and 3 points in the opening round of the 2024 PFL featherweight season, but he’s convinced there was room for much more. Friday, Khizriev (15-0) defeated veteran Brett Johns in a unanimous decison on the preliminary card of PFL 2024, Week 3 at Wintrust Arena. Although it was a clean victory, Khizriev doesn’t think he performed at his best against Johns (20-4), and he has an idea as to why that happened. “To be honest, I’m not fully happy with my performance,” Khizriev said in Russian through a translator in his post-fight interview. “Obviously, a win is a w ..read more

Sean O'Malley didn’t find Aljamain Sterling’s featherweight debut too entertaining. Sterling (24-4 MMA, 16-4 UFC) scored a shutout of Calvin Kattar (23-8 MMA, 7-6 UFC) at UFC 300, where he stifled him with his grappling. The former bantamweight champion, who lost his title to O’Malley by knockout, showed that his power translated well to 145 pounds. Bantamweight champion O’Malley (18-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) took a shot at Sterling’s performance. “‘Aljo’ looked good – he made Calvin look bad,” O’Malley said on his YouTube channel. “I think it was three times, three different times, the crowd was booin ..read more

Aljamain Sterling labels his performance at UFC 300 as the most dominant. Sterling (24-4 MMA, 16-4 UFC) outgrappled Calvin Kattar (23-8 MMA, 7-6 UFC) en route to a lopsided unanimous decision win, making good on his featherweight debut. Kattar only landed 19 total strikes in the fight, was taken down eight times, and was controlled for over 10 minutes. “Don’t get me wrong – our fight on that particular night of UFC 300 was not the most entertaining, but it was the most dominant fight I think you could have possibly looked at from the entire card from top to bottom,” Sterling said on his YouTub ..read more

UFC bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley claims he’s had preliminary discussions with the UFC brass about a future boxing match against Ryan Garcia, and it’s not out of the realm of possibility. Garcia has captured the attention of the combat sports world in recent days after he concluded an erratic and concerning build to his boxing match against Devin Haney with a shocking majority decision victory Saturday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. Garcia’s performance, in which he scored three knockdowns on Haney, turned him from a seemingly toxic force to a desirable matchup for many. That ..read more