Latest news with #UFC
Forbes
40 minutes ago
- Sport
- Forbes
Dana White: Evloev Likely Next For Volkanovski With UFC Abu Dhabi Win
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - DECEMBER 07: Movsar Evloev of Russia looks on prior to a featherweight fight ... More during UFC 310 at T-Mobile Arena on December 07, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by) Earlier this week, UFC CEO Dana White announced several fights for the July 26 UFC Abu Dhabi fight card. One of those bouts was the five-round co-main event between highly-ranked Movsar Evloev and coveted free-agent signee Aaron Pico. While announcing the bout, White added that with a win, Evloev is likely to be next in line to face UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - DECEMBER 07: Movsar Evloev of Russia awaits the start of a round in a ... More featherweight bout during the UFC 310 event at T-Mobile Arena on December 07, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC) "In the co-main event," said White, "we have another five-round fight, between No. 4 ranked Movsar Evloev taking on the guy most people consider to be the top free agent in the world, Aaron Pico. "Evloev is undefeated at 19-0 and one of the most intimidating guys at featherweight. Aaron Pico is a ridiculously violent striker and a very high-level grappler. Pico has had hype behind him since he was a teenager because of his skill and fighting style, which people compare him to the likes of Justin Gaethje or Dustin Poirier. "If Movsar can get the victory, he will likely be the next contender for the title against Alexander Volkanovski. "Expect this fight to be an absolute war." Volkanovski does not have his next title defense booked. NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - MAY 06: Movsar Evloev of Russia prepares to fight Diego Lopes of Brazil in a ... More featherweight fight during the UFC 288 event at Prudential Center on May 06, 2023 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) Evloev (19-0) made his UFC debut in April 2019 in a featherweight contest against Choi Seung-woo. At the time he stepped into the UFC Octagon for the first time, Evloev was 10-0 and coming off a defense of the M-1 Global bantamweight crown. Evloev, defeated Choi via unanimous decision. Over the next five years, Evloev would climb the featherweight rankings, facing progressively tougher opponents under the UFC banner. He is 9-0 under the UFC banner. In his most recent outing, the 31-year-old defeated former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling by decision at UFC 310 in a 145-pound scrap. Evloev has an eight-fight winning streak at 145 pounds, one of his UFC wins came at a catchweight of 150 pounds. He has the fourth longest winning streak in the history of the division. Volkanovski's 11-fight winning run between November 2016 and July 2022 is the second-longest UFC featherweight winning streak. All nine of Evloev's UFC wins have come via decision. Pico (13-4) joined the UFC as a free agent earlier this year. Pico was with Bellator for his entire MMA career before departing as a free agent. The 28-year-old had an up-and-down run with the promotion, but he enters UFC Abu Dhabi on a three-fight winning streak. His record in his past 10 fights is 9-1. His only loss during that span, which dates back to January 2020, is a October 2022 TKO loss to Jeremy Kennedy in a fighter were the doctor stopped the bout because Pico dislocated his shoulder. MIAMI, FLORIDA - APRIL 12: Alexander Volkanovski of Australia reacts after his unanimous-decision ... More victory against Diego Lopes of Brazil in the UFC featherweight championship bout during the UFC 314 event at Kaseya Center on April 12, 2025 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC) In April after wining the vacant UFC featherweight title with a decision over Diego Lopes, Volkanovski spoke about who he could face next. 'If the UFC wants to give it to Yair [Rodriguez], I ain't gonna stop that for him,' Volkanovski said. 'I'll be honest, before that fight [against Patricio Freire], I didn't think if he won, he would be getting a shot. I'll be honest, that didn't come to mind. But now that he's calling, I'm not going to be the one to say no. I'm going to leave everything to the UFC. 'Obviously, you've got guys like Movsar, who's undefeated. I'd love to take that zero. We've got to see what the UFC say. I even seen him tweeting that he wants to fight someone in May and doing all this sort of stuff, so maybe he's had the chats and they want him to have one more fight. So I don't know that situation, but I'll see how things are. I'd love to say I want to get straight back in there. I still do. But I'm gonna have to maybe look at a couple of things.' As for Evloev, he's been angling for a title fight for a while. He revisited that idea in April on social media. Saturday, July 26, 2025 Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi Main Card: 3:00 p.m. ET Preliminary Card: 12:00 p.m. ET We will have more on UFC Abu Dhabi and the Movsar Evloev vs. Aaron Pico fight as fight night approaches.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
UFC champion Ronda Rousey reveals traumatic medical consequences of fighting in the ring
UFC legend Ronda Rousey has revealed that she is still suffering with scary aftereffects of her career in the octagon. Rousey, 38, cemented herself in UFC lore as the promotion's first female champion - a title she successfully defended six times before retiring in 2016. Yet, it has now been over eight years since she last stepped in the ring, with her legendary UFC run ending in back-to-back losses Amanda Nunes and Holly Holm. However, the former Bantamweight fighter has now confessed that even years later she still suffers with long-term medical consequences from her countless bouts. Rousey, who welcomed her second daughter with her husband, former UFC heavyweight Travis Browne, in January, revealed that she is sometimes struck with temporary spells of blindness. 'Two of my triggers (are) bright lights and head impacts—so I'd get hit and I'd basically lose big chunks of my vision and my depth perception and my ability to track movements quickly and make snap decisions, which is basically all the things that I need and I thought I have a concussion,' Rousey told 'Untapped.' 'I'm out on my feet, but I wouldn't be stumbling around. I didn't lose my balance. This was like, I had to retire because this kept happening to me more and more often to the point where I would get a jab and I would basically go blind.' She explained that she consulted doctors on the medical repercussions of her career and is working to address the neurological issues. Rousey reportedly blames the issues on a history of concussions dating back to her days competing in judo - long before her UFC career. 'I don't have any regrets or anything like that,' Rousey said. 'Fortunately, I have a lot more information now about what was going on with me. I just felt like I couldn't be honest about what I was physically going through without people feeling like I was making excuses for myself. I also feel like I didn't owe anyone any explanation especially if they were going to shit all over it. So yeah, I needed to figure out what was going on first. 'Dana sent me to this long-term fighters' neurological study and they actually made some—I wouldn't call them breakthroughs, but actually were able to diagnose a lot of the stuff that was going on with me and I guess still is. I just didn't have all the information at that time. So, I couldn't hand that information to me then to explain things better now, so no, I don't dwell on that at all. It was the best I could do with what I had.' Rousey became the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in judo by winning bronze at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. She began her MMA career in 2011 with King of the Cage before shortly joining Strikeforce. Nicknamed 'Rowdy', she won the Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight title in her fifth fight and fifth straight win as a professional MMA fighter. She kept the title up until the UFC brought out the promotion. Upon acquiring the entire Strikeforce roster, Dana White crowned Rousey the UFC women's bantamweight queen—a title she successfully defended six times as her stardom took off to unprecedented heights. She went 12-0 in MMA before losing to Holm via second-round KO with a head kick in 2015. Over one year later, she was gifted a title fight in her UFC return before losing to Nunes in 48 seconds without landing a significant strike. Following her legendary MMA career, Rousey had a successful five-year run with WWE that ended in 2023.
USA Today
an hour ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Jorge Masvidal heaps praise on Movsar Evloev: 'This guy's going to be champion'
Jorge Masvidal heaps praise on Movsar Evloev: 'This guy's going to be champion' Jorge Masvidal says his American Top Team teammate Movsar Evloev has unmatched work ethic. Evloev (19-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) will welcome former Bellator standout Aaron Pico (13-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC) at UFC on ABC 9 (ABC, ESPN, ESPN+) on July 26 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. UFC CEO Dana White said that with a win, Evloev will likely be next in line for UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. Having trained with Evloev on numerous occasions, Masvidal says it's only a matter of time before the Russian has UFC gold around his waist. "I know Movsar a long time, four years at American Top Team," Masvidal told Red Corner MMA. "Me and Movsar train a lot together. At the time, I'm like 185, 190 pounds and Movsar's like 150, 160. So at first, we're wrestling, I'm doing OK, but this guy does not stop. By the last minute, my head was going to explode because he just doesn't stop, and he's just shooting, shooting, wrestling, wrestling, shooting. "Does not stop, always advancing position. When I went with him I was like, 'Man, he's able to keep that pace with me, and I'm a lot bigger and more experienced than him? This guy's scary,' and I've trained with him numerous times and I've also seen him train with some of the best in the gym. I'm telling you, this guy's going to be champion at 145." Masvidal also praised Evloev for his training regimen. "God gave him genetics, but also, this guy works harder than everybody else," Masvidal said. "Every day, he does conditioning after wrestling. Two hours and a half of wrestling, then he'll go roll, he'll go run, he'll go lift weights. This makes a big difference."
USA Today
3 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
UFC on ABC 9: Bryce Mitchell explains why he moved down to bantamweight
UFC on ABC 9: Bryce Mitchell explains why he moved down to bantamweight Bryce Mitchell will compete at bantamweight for the first time in the UFC for his next fight. A perennial contender at featherweight throughout much of his UFC tenure, "Thug Nasty" came to a realization that he's perhaps a better fit at 135 pounds. That decision came immediately after his submission loss to Jean Silva at UFC 314 in April. "I pretty much made up my mind right after this last fight," Mitchell said in an interview with Home of Fight. "The guy was so much bigger than me, and I really felt it in the second round. In the first round, obviously I could tell he was bigger and stronger, but it was really in the second round where I felt it. I think that I'm a '35er. My weight's already come down quite a bit since I started dieting. I got this call two weeks ago, I think. So, I'm excited about it. Everything's going good." Mitchell (17-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) has been matched up with Said Nurmagomedov (18-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) for his return to bantamweight at UFC on ABC 9 (ABC, ESPN, ESPN+) on July 26 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. "I feel like I'm going to win the fight, and I feel like I can beat anybody," Mitchell said of Nurmagomedov. "Him specifically, he's good at a lot of stuff. I respect him, and I'm going to put on a great show. That's a good thing for the fans. No matter how it goes for me or for Said, it's going to go great for the fans. I guarantee you it's going to be a fun fight because I'm going to make it a fun fight."
South Wales Argus
3 hours ago
- Health
- South Wales Argus
New mental health café opens in Sebastopol, Pontypool
'Grounded Coffee & Wellness' created by mental health charity Tidy Butt is Sebastopol's newest mental health space. Last Sunday on June 15 the team welcomed the community inside with a wellness themed launch party. At the party visitors enjoyed locally made coffee, sampled baked goods and enjoyed ice baths and a woodfire sauna experience. The café's brand-new therapy rooms were also on show. Matthew Creel of Tidy Butt wellness café (Image: NQ) 42-year-old Matthew Creel is the brain behind Tidy Butt. Speaking of Sunday's launch he said: 'Seeing people turn up today and the amount of people that have come in support of us is absolutely incredible. 'People of all ages coming in and enjoying the space and that was our decision from the beginning really. 'It's been a labour of love because we've all been working full time, and we've got families but to see the growth of what we've actually achieved with everybody's support within the community has been absolutely incredible It's mind blowing.' Matthew explained how Tidy Butt was created. The inside of Tidy Butt wellness café (Image: NQ) 'I kind of lost out on a promising rugby carer to a heart condition. I never really dealt with the loss of kind of losing my career as such. 'As a result of that at pre lock down I was kind of at my lowest point but with my wife's support I plucked up the courage I went to the doctor. 'I started looking in my local area mental health wise to see if there was anything I could get involved with. I didn't feel like anything fitted for me at that time, so I thought you know what I'm going to start my own.' Matthew had the following advice to anyone struggling: 'If somebody is struggling, they can come in and have a coffee, they can come to have a chat. 'They can access support upstairs via the counselling, and I just think it's another avenue for people to come down.' Matthew Creel with UFC fighter Mason Jones outside the café (Image: NQ) 30-year-old Mason Jones from Blaenavon is a professional UFC fighter and ambassador for the charity. Despite a thriving UFC career, he's also struggled with his mental health. Mason said: 'I went from fighting in front of 18,000 people to having to deal with a lot of problems with my family and injuries it was a lot in one time. 'I've worked with sports therapists before but actually working with someone about my own mental health was massively important.' He added: 'Reaching out to someone who is actually a professional is a big thing.' Emma Robinson outside the Little Lee Therapy rooms (Image: NQ) Also invited to the launch event was 33-year-old Emma Robinson. Back in 2023, Emma's brother Lee Robinson took his own life just aged 42. The family, alongside Pontypool United, held 'Little Lee Fest', a festival in Lee's memory, with all proceeds going to Tidy Butt and managed to raise over £7000. Lee's memory was honoured at the event with the naming of the 'Little Lee' therapy rooms. Speaking of this Emma said: 'We are thankful that they've still got Lee in mind. 'It's a bad day not a bad life help is out there even though you're struggling and when you're in that dark place there is support out there and you can get out of it.' Community reaction to the event was also positive. Helen King and Reg King in the ice baths (Image: NQ) 52-year-old Helen King and 53-year-old Reg King enjoyed the ice bath and sauna sessions. Helen said: 'It is amazing, I think for women of a certain age going through things like menopause, suffer quite a lot with anxiety so it's really helped and having this resource locally is brilliant.' Reg added: 'It looks good I'm glad there's something here for peoples mental support.' For more information click here.
