Valter
Walker believes one of his teammates is going to be an
Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholder soon.

Walker's friend and teammate, Bogdan
Guskov, is scheduled to face Magomed
Ankalaev in a light heavyweight outing, the main event of

UFC Abu Dhabi on July 25. Guskov took the fight on 14 days'
notice after Ankalaev's original opponent, Khalil
Rountree, pulled out due to an injury.

Walker backs Gor MMA teammate ahead of short-notice fight with
Magomed Ankalaev

Guskov is a big betting underdog going into the fight against
Ankalaev, who is a massive -500 favorite on some sportsbooks.
However, Walker is backing his friend to pull off a huge upset win
over the former light heavyweight champion. The Brazilian
heavyweight predicts that Guskov will knock out Ankalaev in the
second round. He also believes Guskov will go on to become the
first UFC champion from their gym, Gor
MMA.

“Bogdan is certainly a talent,†Walker told Red Corner MMA. “He's
simply a machine. I think there's a great chance that he will shock
the world. I think he can definitely win. I think Bogdan is going
to be our first UFC champion in Gor MMA. I think he might knock
Ankalaev out in the second round… I train with Bogdan every day,
so I know what he's capable of.â€

Guskov (18-3) hasn't lost in five straight outings since suffering
a submission loss in his UFC debut in 2023. The Uzbek 205-pounder
scored four straight finishes before fighting former champion
Jan
Blachowicz to a majority draw this past December. Meanwhile,
Ankalaev (20-2) lost his title to Alex
Pereira in their rematch in his last Octagon outing, marking
his second defeat in the UFC after he, too, was finished in his
promotional debut back in 2018.

Walker (15-1) takes on Thomas
Petersen (11-4) in a heavyweight matchup on the same card. “The
Foot Hunter” has finished four straight fights with heel hooks
since suffering his lone professional loss in his UFC debut in
2024. Meanwhile, Petersen has consistently alternated between wins
and losses in his six UFC outings.

Valter
Walker believes his teammate Bogdan
Guskov has what it takes to shock the world when he faces
Magomed
Ankalaev in the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi on July 25.

“Bogdan is a talent. He's simply a machine,†Walker told Red Corner
MMA.

“I think he's going to shock the world.… pic.twitter.com/ye8pdZS90x

— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA)
July 19, 2026

Cain
Velasquez has heaped praise on Islam
Makhachev.

Velasquez considers Makhachev an extraordinary athlete who has
reached the pinnacle of the sport. From conversations with his
coach, Javier Mendez, Velasquez knows that the
Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight king is a hard
worker in the gym.

Cain Velasquez explains why Islam Makhachev continues to
dominate under Javier Mendez

Having been honed into a champion himself by Mendez, Velasquez
knows that Makhachev is in good hands with the
American Kickboxing Academy coach. The Hall of Famer and former
UFC heavyweight champion believes the Dagestani will continue his
dominant title run.

“[Islam] is a special type of athlete,†Velasquez told Red Corner
MMA. “He's one of the guys at the pinnacle of this sport. I talk
with Javier all the time, and Islam and those guys are always doing
great. They are in great hands. Javier is the one who builds
champions… I see Islam continuing to do what he's been doing, and
that's winning impressively. He's somebody who has mastered all
aspects of MMA.â€

Velasquez was the flagbearer for AKA before the likes of Daniel
Cormier, Luke
Rockhold and Khabib
Nurmagomedov won gold in the UFC. Makhachev is the latest to
bring a UFC championship to the gym.

Makhachev (28-1) is undefeated in 16 straight UFC outings since his
lone professional loss in 2015. He defended the UFC lightweight
title four times, the most in the division's history, before moving
up to welterweight and dominantly dethroning Jack
Della Maddalena to win the 170-pound title.

Makhachev is now set to defend his welterweight title for the first
time against Ian Garry
(17-1) at UFC
330 on Aug. 15 at Xfinity Mobile Center in Philadelphia. A
successful title defense will see the Russian break the record for
the longest win streak in the history of the Octagon.

Cain
Velasquez believes Islam
Makhachev will continue his dominant run at UFC 330, calling
him one of the sport's most complete fighters and saying he has
mastered every aspect of MMA.

“Islam is a special type of athlete. He's one of the guys at the
pinnacle of this sport,â€â€¦ pic.twitter.com/e22KOCtVCo

— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA)
July 19, 2026

Sean
Strickland recently listed sports in terms of what he considers
masculine.

According to Strickland (31-7), mixed martial arts is the manliest
sport in the world, followed by other combat sports. The two-time

Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champion believes
the striking arts of kickboxing and boxing follow MMA on the list.
He considers wrestling less masculine than the striking arts but
manlier than all other sports.

Strickland went off on the world's most popular sport in the
aftermath of the FIFA World Cup final, shaming soccer players for
faking injuries and their dramatic reactions to contact.

“How are you a grown a** man faking being hit? Are there any soccer
players out there? Do you feel no shame when you fake being
injured?â€

Furthermore, he sees swimming as the least masculine sport.
Notably, he had hockey, American football, baseball, lacrosse and
tennis ahead of soccer.

Strickland dethroned Khamzat
Chimaev in a massive upset at
UFC 328 this past May to win the middleweight title for the
second time. Chimaev is targeting a rematch, but Nassourdine
Imavov and Dricus Du
Plessis, who has two wins over him, are also in the
running.

Most masculine sports in order from being a
man to being a lady boy

MMA
Kickboxing
boxing
Wrestling
Rugby
Hockey
Football
Baseball
Lacrosse
Tennis
Soccer
Golf
Swimming

Right or wrong?

— Sean
Strickland (@SStricklandMMA)
July 19, 2026