Johnny Eblen (above) says a Sean Strickland fight would be
different outside the gym. | 📷: PFL MMA

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Johnny
Eblen and Sean
Strickland never go easy on each other.

Eblen and Strickland have developed a strong friendship despite
training at different gyms. Moreover, Strickland frequently
campaigns for Eblen to get a
Ultimate Fighting Championship contract in the future. The
reigning UFC titleholder recently said that he wouldn't mind
putting his middleweight belt on the line against Eblen and the
latter would happily oblige.

Johnny Eblen explains why friendship would not stop a fight
with Sean Strickland

Eblen recently explained why he doesn't mind fighting Strickland
even though they are friends. He says he'd rather fight Strickland
for money since they anyway do it for free in the gym. Eblen
revealed that they go hard against each other in sparring sessions
and often use big gloves as they are both looking to land
damage.

However, Eblen clarifies that neither one is looking for a finish
if they see that the other is rocked. Having grown up wrestling
since the age of four, the interim
Professional Fighters League middleweight king is also no
stranger to competing against his teammates.

“I’d be happy to fight him,†Eblen told Ariel Helwani. “We fight
each other for free. It's not that we're trying to take away from
each other. We’re just competitors. Even when we spar, we spar
hard. It’s not easy rounds, man. We spar with big gloves because
we’re trying to crack each other. Obviously, if someone gets dazed
a little bit, we’re not trying to go in for the kill because we’re
training. But it’s just competition, man. I grew up competing
against my friends my whole life. I started wrestling from the age
of four and you wrestle your teammates all the time.â€

A welterweight
title fight headlines PFL Washington DC: Tune on Saturday, July 25
at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Eblen (18-1) knocked out Impa
Kasanganay en route to a third-round finish to win the interim
PFL middleweight title in Austin, Texas. Strickland (31-7) had
flown to Florida to help Eblen in camp at the
American Top Team.

Johnny
Eblen explains why he’d have no issue fighting Sean
Strickland despite their friendship:

“I’d be happy to fight him. We fight each other for free.

We’re just competitors. Even when we spar, we spar hard. It’s not
easy rounds, man. We spar with big gloves because we’re… pic.twitter.com/WTt9stC7ho

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani)
July 22, 2026

Bogdan
Guskov considers Magomed
Ankalaev the best light heavyweight in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Guskov (18-3) is scheduled to fight Ankalaev (20-2) in the main
event of
UFC Abu Dhabi on July 25 at Etihad Arena on Yas Island. Guskov
stepped up to accept the fight on 14 days' notice after Ankalaev's
original opponent, Khalil
Rountree, pulled out due to an injury.

If he comes out on top, Guskov is eyeing championship gold.

Guskov breaks down Ankalaev's standing after Alex Pereira
rematch loss

Despite Ankalaev not being the current champion, Guskov still
considers the Russian the best 205-pounder. The surging Uzbek
contender believes Ankalaev just had a “bad night at the office†in
his rematch against Alex
Pereira, in which he lost the title. As such, a win over the
former champion warrants a title shot, according to the
33-year-old.

“For me, Magomed is the strongest guy in our division,†Guskov told
MMA Junkie. “Second fight with Pereira is just one fight, bad day
in the office. And Magomed is still a dangerous and stronger guy in
our division… For me, the next fight is a title shot. We try to
take gold in the UFC.â€

Ankalaev was undefeated in 14 straight outings since 2018 before
his loss to Pereira. Meanwhile, Guskov was on a four-fight
finishing streak before fighting former champ Jan
Blachowicz to a draw in his last outing. He has finished all 18
of his career wins so far.

The belt is currently held by Carlos
Ulberg, who suffered an injury in his title-winning effort
earlier this year. UFC CEO Dana
White has since revealed that an interim title bout is likely
next in the light heavyweight division as Ulberg recovers.

Bogdan
Guskov thinks beating Magomed
Ankalaev at
#UFCAbuDhabi should get him a title shot.

“Magomed is strongest guy in our division. Second fight with
Pereira is bad day in the office.”

(via @MikeBohn)
pic.twitter.com/IiHagRBrEl

— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie)
July 22, 2026

Jay
Alderete doesn't regret his celebration following his win over
former
Ultimate Fighting Championship athlete Cameron
Smotherman.

Alderete took on Smotherman in a bantamweight matchup at
Fury FC 121 in Houston. Alderete dropped Smotherman with a head
kick before putting him to sleep with a brabo choke in the second
round. He followed up with a crotch grab celebration and chirped
away at his counterpart, who had to be held back by security.

The undefeated Fury FC prospect says Smotherman’s corner
provoked his post-fight taunt

Alderete recently revealed the details of their verbal exchange
after the fight. Smotherman had claimed to have never heard of
Alderete before their bout. The latter made sure to remind the
former UFC fighter that he would never forget the name.

“He said he doesn't know nothing about me,†Alderete told MMA
Fighting. “He doesn't understand the hype… I ran up, and I told
him, ‘I told you you were going to remember the name today,' and I
mean he just crashed out. They dragged him out of the cage. He runs
back in, tries to sneak attack me, the funniest sh*t of all
time.â€

Alderete also defends his crotch grab celebration following the
win. The 19-year-old claims that Smotherman's family and friends
were flipping him off during the fight. He doesn't regret returning
the favor after his win.

“These dudes, all his family and friends were standing up on the
chair flicking me off,†Alderete added. “One dude's raising his
stuff at me, right? He's doing a crotch grab at me… and I'm like,
you know what? F*ck ya'll. So, I give a lot of birds, and then I
crotch grab them and oh now I'm the bad guy… I have no regrets on
that sh*t.â€

Alderete (6-0) is undefeated in six outings, with five finishes
since making his debut last year. Meanwhile, Smotherman (12-8) was
released from the UFC last month on a three-fight skid. “The
Baby-Faced Killer” went viral for passing out after making weight
for his scheduled
UFC 324 bout against Ricky
Turcios, which was subsequently cancelled.

19-year-old prospect @jayalderete135
explains his side of his viral Fury FC finish against Cameron
Smotherman:

“I ran up, and I told [Smotherman], ‘I told you [you were] going to
remember the name today,’ and I mean he just crashed out. They
dragged him out of the cage. He runs… pic.twitter.com/2VIwde2UNJ

— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting)
July 22, 2026

Former UFC fighter Cameron
Smotherman gets knocked down by a headkick and put to sleep in
a choke by Jay
Alderete #FuryFC121
pic.twitter.com/zryAWFuRib

— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist)
July 20, 2026