Ultimate Fighting Championship great Alex
Pereira is the type of guy to give someone else a present on
his birthday.

Two weeks before her title defense at Karate Combat 62—scheduled
for July 24 in Miami against Juliana
Velasquez—Aline
Pereira was surprised by her brother, “Poatan,†with one of the
biggest gifts she has ever received. On his birthday of July 7, per
sources close to the situation, the current UFC heavyweight gave
his younger sister a house in Connecticut, near their training camp
of Teixeira MMA & Fitness.

Gifts that change a life

On a since-deleted Instagram Stories
post, the Karate Combat champ wrote, “There are gifts that change a
life. Today, you gave me one of them. Thank you, little brother,
for so much love and generosity. May God repay you twofold for
everything you do for me. Happy birthday! I love you.â€

The 35-year-old flyweight has bounced back and forth between
kickboxing, Karate Combat and MMA since debuting in the LFA in
2022. Her most recent appearance in any combat sport came in May
when she took home a decision over Jade
Masson-Wong at the inaugural MVP MMA event. That put her on the
first win streak of her career, although all of her professional
outings in MMA have heard the final bell.

As a Karate Combat participant, she first appeared in 2024 to knock
fellow MMA expat Dee Begley
out in the opening frame. She went on to stop Amanda
Torres early the next year, and in July 2025, captured its
first title by earning a decision over Fani
Peloumpi. This bout on July 24 at Karate Combat 62 is to be the
first defense of her 125-pound throne, and she will be facing
another ex-MMA fighter in Velasquez.

“Poatan†lost in his last UFC outing, appearing at the UFC White
House event in June and succumbing to strikes from Ciryl Gane
for the interim heavyweight belt. The former middleweight and light
heavyweight titlist attempted to become the first three-division
champion in company history, and since his defeat, has suggested he
plans on remaining at the highest weight category for at least one
more match.

UFC star Conor McGregor has spoken about one of the most prevalent issues in the promotion these days – fighter pay.

This weekend at UFC 329, Conor McGregor will make his return to action when he collides with Max Holloway in a huge welterweight fight. It will serve as the first time he makes the walk to the cage in five years, and many fans have the same question: why?

RELATED: Conor McGregor criticizes former rival Dustin Poirier for ‘blaming his father' for recent public intoxication arrest

McGregor is easily the biggest star in the history of mixed martial arts and in addition to that, he has also earned more money than the majority of not only MMA fighters, but also combat sports athletes.

In a recent interview, McGregor spoke about the broader topic of fighter pay in the UFC, given the displeasure expressed by fans and some on the roster.

McGregor opens up on fighter pay

“I'll always campaign for the fighters getting their worth, and I'm very happy with it,†McGregor said during Wednesday's UFC 329 pre-fight news conference. “It's a steady rise. If you ask Max, I'm sure it's probably five times his highest pay. So the boys and the girls are getting there, and I will always campaign for that, and I'll always be happy that I have helped spearhead that.

“As an owner of Bareknuckle Fighting Championship, it kind of puts me in a pickle. I always vouch for the fighters, but I also have a stake in the company. So there has to be some sort of balance. But still, I am a fighter at heart, I know what it takes in this business, and I know without the fighters, there is none of this – not an iota of it. So I'm happy that the money is rising in the fight business, and that we're thriving, and I'm happy to be back, and give it that extra little fuel to its rocket, and off it goes.â€

Quotes via MMA Junkie

What do you make of Conor's remarks on this topic? Let us know in the comments below, BJPENN Nation!

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight
king Israel
Adesanya is going in a new direction.

Posting a video on his personal YouTube channel on Thursday titled
“I'm Leaving
CKB,†Adesanya explained that he was doing just that: departing
the confines of Auckland, New Zealand-based camp City Kickboxing.
The 36-year-old ex-kickboxer has fallen on hard times as of late,
dropping four straight, although two of his last four outings were
for his old middleweight title.

The split came effective May 20, per “The Last Stylebender,†who
does so a little under two months after losing to Joe Pyfer by
knockout in the UFC Seattle headliner. Per the fighter, he needed a
fresh start, and most importantly, personalized training instead of
being in a room full of top-ranked athletes who all vie for
attention from the coaches. Adesanya claimed it had been brewing
for a while, and that he still mourns the absence of the team as a
main part of his life.

I am not coming back to City Kickboxing

Adesanya stated, “So [Wednesday, May 20], I spoke to [head coach]
Eugene [Bareman] face-to-face, and I told him I am not coming back
to CKB,†Adesanya opened with in his video. “This was something a
long time coming behind the scenes, and we have an understanding. I
won't lie; it sucks.â€

He continued, “Grief comes in waves for me. For most people, I've
grieved before, so this, it comes in waves. I've had great days,
but also there's days where I'm like [exasperated sigh]. And it's a
long time coming, I just want to get it out [of] the way because I
want you to hear from the horse's mouth because no one else has
spoken about it. I guess those who know are waiting for the ball to
drop, so [motions a ball dropping] I dropped the ball.â€

The former champion was simultaneously gracious for those that
helped him grow over the years and crestfallen that it was the end
of an era.

“It's bittersweet,†he admitted, “but it's the right thing for me.
Especially where I am at in my career, it's exactly what I needed.
Insanity is doing the same s–t and expecting different results,
so…I think that's it, I just don't want to talk about it. It's
something like I said that sucks, I want to grieve in peace.â€

Having a bit more to get out after all, the Nigerian-born athlete
carried on, saying, “[If] people want to bring it up, that's cool,
don't ask me about it…2009 is when I first went to CKB, 2010 is
when I moved over, and I established myself in Auckland to train at
CKB. CKB made me into the fighter that I am today. They've trained
a lot of great fighters. Greats, even better than myself, but me as
an individual, CKB made me into the fighter that I am today. But
also, I was one of the main pillars who put CKB on the map on the
world stage. To take it to the next level, where people from all
over the world want to come train at CKB, and I'm proud of
that.â€

The former Glory kickboxing title challenger thanked a number of
people who helped him over the years, not limited to coach Bareman
and fellow fighters Cameron
Rowston, Brogan
Anderson and kickboxer Doug Viney.
Above all, he knows exactly what he needs in his next camp, and
that is the personal attention of a coach who can help straighten
out any issues that come up as they happen.

“What I need for myself is [holds hands pensively] focused,
individual training. So, I've made the decision to leave CKB for my
own reasons, and yeah. I'll leave it at that,†Adesanya
concluded.