Darius Bazley rises to block the shot
Joshua Van empowered by nation of Myanmar every time he steps into the octagon
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Marcus Almeida vs. Martin Buday headed to UFC on ABC 9 in Abu Dhabi
"Buchecha" is UFC-bound. A standout ONE Championship fighter and decorated BJJ star, Marcus Almeida, is aligned for a three-round heavyweight bout vs. Martin Buday at UFC on ABC 9, which takes place July 26 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Two people with knowledge of the matchup confirmed it to MMA Junkie but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. Robert Tellez first reported the fight was in the works. In each victory, Almeida (5-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) has finished his opponents in the opening round; four came by submission, and one by ground-and-pound TKO. "Buchecha" is a multiple-time ADCC and IBJJF grappling champion, and has proven since his MMA debut in 2021, that his skills translate well in the heavyweight division of MMA competition. Almeida, 35, was last in action at ONE 169 in November, where he submitted Amir Aliakbari with a rear-naked choke in the opening round. That fight was the last on his contract, and he opted not to re-sign with the promotion. Prior to the fight, "Buchecha" told MMA Junkie he was frustrated with inactivity. After he completed his first four MMA fights in 11 months, Almeida hoped he could maintain the same level of activity, but the promotion did not meet his expectations. After he submitted Kirill Grishenko at ONE Fight Night 1, Almeida only had two more fights in 26 months. Buday (15-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC) aims to extend his winning streak to three after consecutive victories over Andrei Arlovski and Uran Satybaldiev. His lone UFC loss came against Shamil Gaziev in December 2023. With the addition, the UFC on ABC 9 lineup includes:
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Joshua Van vows to show 'no respect at all' for UFC champ Alexandre Pantoja in expected title fight
Joshua Van continues to gain momentum like it's going out of style. The new No. 1-ranked UFC flyweight contender has emerged seemingly overnight as one of MMA's biggest breakout stars of 2025. Van's current five-fight win streak began this past September, however none of the five were more resounding than his latest — the 23-year-old went to war with one-time title challenger Brandon Royval at UFC 317, won a unanimous decision, seized the baton as the Fight of the Year frontrunner and positioned himself as the next challenger to UFC champion Alexandre Pantoja. Advertisement Despite the vast difference in experience between himself and Uncrowned's No. 4 pound-for-pound fighter in the world Pantoja, Van is exceedingly confident in his abilities ahead of the massive opportunity. "There's no one like me," Van said on Monday's edition of "The Ariel Helwani Show." "The fighting style that I bring, the no respect — I don't give respect to nobody in that cage. I respect [Pantoja] as a man, I respect what he's done in our division. But when we fight, there's no respect at all. "You know how a lot of people say that, 'He's good at this, he's the next level,' this and that? Look at Royval. When they said, 'Oh, his pressure's going to be too much' — I didn't give him no respect when he was pressuring me. I don't give no respect. I stay calm, I'll do my thing. It's going to be the same thing [against Pantoja]. I'm not going to let him do his thing. And I feel like a lot of people, because they know that his grappling is so much, that they're so scared of him taking them down, that they end up getting taken down." Advertisement UFC 317 set the stage perfectly for the top of the flyweight division with an unofficial tournament of sorts. Van's clash against Royval directly preceded Pantoja's latest title defense over Kai Kara-France. Like Van, the champion also performed brilliantly, finishing Kara-France with a third-round rear-naked choke to notch his fourth consecutive defense of the 125-pound belt. It was all a new experience for the surging Van, who stuck around inside Las Vegas' T-Mobile Arena after his own big moment against Royval. "It was a good fight, but my head wasn't all there," Van said of his experience sitting cageside for Pantoja's win. "I was so excited to be there. You gotta remember, I never go to UFC events. I think that was probably my second time. ... For me to sit at the front row, my head wasn't there. "When I walked in the cage, I didn't even know what to do. Joe Rogan asked me a question and I thought we were done. Shout out to the champ, man — he was like, 'Hey, we gotta do the faceoff.' I forgot about the faceoff! I thought after [Rogan] interviews me, we were done." Advertisement Considering his youth, Van has already put together a wildly impressive career. Of his current five-fight stretch of victories, all occurred on numbered UFC pay-per-view events. Now if he can pull off the upset against Pantoja, Van will become one of the youngest champions in promotional history, falling just shy of topping Jon Jones' record set at age 23 against Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in 2011. Though he's yet to fight a full five rounds in MMA, Van nonetheless has championship experience, having previously won the Fury FC flyweight title in 2023. That fight punched Van's ticket to the UFC, and nine fights later, he feels well-prepared to overthrow one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on Earth. "I'm about to take that belt. [UFC 317] showed that I'm confident, I'm ready to take him on," Van said. "I don't really care about the faceoff. People want to look hard when they face off. I'm like, 'Man, come on. We're going to fight in the cage.' "He's a great champion, but he's never fought Joshua Van."
USA Today
7 hours ago
- USA Today
Paul Craig vs. Modestas Bukauskas added to UFC Paris lineup
The lineup for the UFC's return to the world's greatest city continues to build with the addition of a new light heavyweight matchup. Modestas Bukauskas is set to take on Paul Craig when the UFC touches down in Paris in two months. UFC officials announced the booking Monday. UFC Fight Night 258 (ESPN+) takes place Sept. 6 at Accor Arena. This will be the fourth straight September the UFC has visited "The City of Lights" for a Fight Night event. Craig (17-9-1 MMA, 9-9-1 UFC) is in the middle of the roughest stretch of his career. Officially, he's dropped five of his past six fights. Less than a month ago, his fight with Rodolfo Bellator, which already had been pushed back a month, ended in a no contest when Craig landed an illegal upkick and Bellato couldn't continue. (Bellato was widely criticized for allegedly faking the effects of the kick.) Before that, Craig had a three-fight skid with losses to Bo Nickal Caio Borralho and Brendan Allen. Since the start of the pandemic more than five years ago, though, "The Bear Jew" has been pretty reliable when he wins. Of his five wins since 2020, four have come with post-fight bonus awards, and all have been finishes. Bukauskas (18-6 MMA, 6-4 UFC) has been on a great run the past three or so years with seven wins in eight fights. And while none of those have come with bonus money, three have been stoppages. After he was cut loose from the UFC in his first stint with a three-fight skid, Bukauskas went to Cage Warriors and won the light heavyweight title in late 2022 to earn his way back to the big leagues. Since then, the 31-year-old Lithuanian has gone 5-1 in the UFC, including three straight victories over Marcin Prachnio, Raffael Cerqueira and Ion Cutelaba, the latter two both coming earlier this year. With the addition, the UFC Paris lineup now includes:
