MMA
Futures on the line for Murphy and Aspinall in UFC
Published
11 months agoon
(Photo Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)The remaining months of 2025 will see enormous UFC matches for British boxers. Both Leone Murphy, and especially Tom Aspinall, have a lot to lose if they do not win further visits to the Octagon.
On August 16 (early August 17 in Great Britain), he sees the English featherweight of Lrone Murphy, and the novice UFC Aaron Pico at UFC 319, which will take place at the United Center in Chicago, USA.
Murphy is currently sixth in the UFC featherweight division, and another win in August will augment his chances of winning the title against Alexander Volkanovski. However, failure will bring grave hopes for the title.
At this time of year, Murphy could prepare for the fresh football season. He had a trial with Liverpool (although he was born in Trafford), but the knee injury ended his career. It looked as if he became a boxer, but eventually found himself in the MMA world.
His professional debut took place in 2016, initially as featherlight. Two years later he moved to a pencil scale and there Murphy gained his name. In 2019, he became a full contact champion of weight scale, and later he made his debut in UFC this year.
His debut UFC was against Zubair Tukhugov and although he maintained his invincible record, the fight ended in a draw. Murphy did not look at this disappointing result and since then he won eight fights.
He now has a 16-0-1 record and is associated with Movs Evloev for the fourth longest victorious run in the UFC featherweight division. On August 16, he wants to extend his undefeated record against Aaron Pico.
This is a complex UFC debut for Pico, who won his name as a freestyle wrestler and almost reached the 2016 Olympic Games. His MMA career began the following year in Bellator. The American lost his debut, but won another four matches. The year 2019 did not go well with two subsequent defeats (one recently Avenged).
From the next loss in 2022 he won three fights in a row, but it looks like a complex fight against Murphy, which should be able to maintain an invincible record.
The main event at UFC 319 sees the title of UFC of medium weight on the line. Dricus du Plessis defends his belt against the unbeaten Khamzat Chimaev. British Butmakers from offers Follow that changing the title is on the way. They have a enormous plessis at 17/10 to win the fight against the 1/2 claimant to take away the title.
Du Plessis won titles in two other MMA companies before he went to UFC in 2020. Three years later he defeated Robert Whittaker in the last eliminator of the UFC medium weight title. Six months later, he took the title of Sean Strickland and since then he created two successful defense against Israel Adesanya and Strickland, both taking place in Australia. These victories took his professional record to 23-2.
Can it do it 24-2? He faces a complex fight with Chimaev, who won all his 14 professional fights. The Russian debuted in 2018, and four of his first five fights were won in the first round. His debut UFC took place in July 2020. He had to be a man in a hurry, because his second UFC competition had only ten days after his first. There has never been such a tiny return between fights in the company.
He had four night performances in UFC. His victory over Gilbert Burns was announced in 2022. His last victory took place in October last year, when Robert Whittaker surrendered in the first round. Five of his last seven UFC competitions meant that his opponent did not reach the second round.
It was a huge year for Tom Aspinall when he became a heavyweight champion of UFC. He does First defense His title against the Frenchman Ciril Gane on October 25 in Abu Dhabi. Aspinall is a mighty favorite to win the fight against bookmakers offering 1/4 chances of Gane available at 3/1 to cause nervousness.
Aspinall became a fleeting champion in November 2023, when he defeated Sergei Pavlovich in just over a minute. He defended this title in Manchester in July 2024 and in just a minute he got rid of Curtis Blaydes. His shot in the main title never materialized, and when Jon Jones announced his pension in June, Aspinall was promoted to the master.
Gane himself is a former fleeting heavyweight champion, but this is his third attempt to win the full title. He lost to Francis Ngannou in 2022, and Jon Jones the following year. Since then, he won two fights, but with Aspinall his last six fights in the first round, another unsuccessful challenge of the title looks likely.
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MMA
Belal Muhammad gives Max Holloway warning ahead of Conor McGregor fight
Published
3 hours agoon
July 8, 2026
Muhammad believes Max
Holloway should initially play it really safe against Conor
McGregor.
McGregor (22-6) returns to action after a five-year hiatus from the
Ultimate Fighting Championship in a welterweight matchup
against Holloway (27-9) in the main event of
UFC 329 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. While Muhammad foresees
a striking-heavy bout, he believes Holloway should be the one to
initiate wrestling against the returning former two-division
champion.
Belal Muhammad explains why Max Holloway should wrestle Conor
McGregor early at UFC 329
Muhammad notes that McGregor’s form, speed and power are unknown
after his long layoff. The former welterweight champion believes
“Notorious†could still pose a serious knockout threat in the first
two to three minutes, especially considering his move up to 170
pounds.
The 37-year-old also believes the Irish superstar's gas tank, which
was an issue even in his prime, will be an even bigger factor
now.
“I think that first three or four minutes, McGregor's gonna come
out hot,†Muhammad said on his YouTube channel. “When he was at the
top, his cardio was a problem. So now, five years off, extra
muscle, higher weight class, I think his cardio's gonna be even a
bigger problem.â€
According to Muhammad, Holloway should clinch and wrestle McGregor
early in the fight to just stay safe.
“I think probably the person that should initiate grappling should
be Holloway… [McGregor] has definitely added a lot of muscle on his
body. His cardio is gonna get drained,†he added. “So, for
Holloway, I would definitely add in a takedown to wear on him. To
get past the first three to four minutes.â€
MMA
Paddy Pimblett collects $1,000 from Daniel Cormier after World Cup bet
Published
4 hours agoon
July 8, 2026
Cormier not only saw his national team crash out of the FIFA
World Cup but also lost a bet to Paddy
Pimblett.
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship Hall of Famer had bet $1,000 on
the U.S. to defeat Belgium in the Round of 16 knockout stage of the
FIFA World Cup. However, the co-hosts were knocked out via a 1-4
loss to Belgium and Cormier has paid his dues after meeting
Pimblett in Las Vegas ahead of
UFC 329.
Daniel Cormier pays Paddy Pimblett after losing FIFA World Cup
bet
Cormier admittedly let the hype get the better of him after the
U.S. defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0 in the Round of 32. The
former UFC double champ immediately paid Pimblett in cash, saying,
“I was filled with unnecessary confidence watching us beat Bosnia
and Herzegovina. Sh*t! Bro, I owe you money. I owe you $1,000.â€
They are both in Las Vegas, with UFC 329 set to go down at T-Mobile
Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, July 11. Pimblett will look to
return to winning ways after suffering the first loss of his UFC
career earlier this year, against Justin
Gaethje. The Englishman will square off against French
lightweight Benoit St.
Denis in the co-main event. Cormier returns to the commentary
booth for the upcoming numbered event.
Cormier has previously made several bold claims about American
soccer. While the USA is yet to cement its legacy in the sport,
“DC†believes his country would have dominated if it were as
prominent as basketball or American football stateside. In another
conversation with Pimblett, he claimed that MLS would surpass the
English Premier League if the best American athletes committed to
soccer.
A man of his word ðŸ¤ðŸ’°@PaddyTheBaddy
& @DC_MMA
had a friendly wager on USA vs Belgium![ #UFC329
LIVE JULY 11 at 9pmET on @ParamountPlus
] pic.twitter.com/IvsIFTPIty— UFC (@ufc) July
7, 2026
MMA
UFC fighter Brandon Royval’s five-year commitment outside the Octagon
Published
5 hours agoon
July 8, 2026
Royval has been serving his community for half a decade.
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight recently revealed that
he has been volunteering for five years at the Denver Dream Center,
a non-profit organization that helps youth from troubled
backgrounds rebuild their lives.
Brandon Royval's Denver Dream Center volunteer work before UFC
329
Royval feels privileged to have built personal relationships with
less-fortunate kids and watched them grow into young adults. The
former title challenger said in the
UFC 329 “Embedded†video series:
“The Dream Center is – we pick up the kids in the local area,
normally the lower-income area. We bring them, feed them, just
create relationships, and check up on everybody… Five years I've
been a volunteer there. And it's cool cause most of the kids are in
middle school or high school. So I've watched them become young
adults and handle adversity. So it's been really cool and a real
privilege.â€
Bryan Sederwall, the pastor at the Denver Dream Center, says Royval
has been consistent for the past five years. Sederwall claims “Raw
Dawg†always keeps his commitments to kids, even if he has a fight
coming up.
Royval (17-9) is set to collide with Lone'er
Kavanagh in a flyweight matchup at UFC 329, which goes down at
T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, July 11. He will look to
rebound from back-to-back losses against Joshua Van
and Manel Kape.
Meanwhile, Kavanagh (10-1) is coming off a unanimous decision win
over former champion Brandon
Moreno that saw him bounce back from his first professional
loss.
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