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Ian Garry explains how beating Islam Makhachev would change his legacy

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5 hours ago

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Ian Garry explains how beating Islam Makhachev would change his legacy
Ian
Garry believes defeating
Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholder Islam
Makhachev at UFC
330 would make his greatness “undeniable.”

The Irish welterweight challenges Makhachev for the 170-pound title
in the UFC 330 headliner on Aug. 15 at Xfinity Mobile Arena in
Philadelphia. Considering the Dagestani champion's accolades,
taking the title off him is a monumental feat, according to
Garry.

Ian Garry views UFC 330 clash with Islam Makhachev as a
career-defining fight

Ahead of their fight, Garry acknowledged the magnitude of the
challenge, calling Makhachev the best fighter in mixed martial arts
today.

“I know how good Islam Makhachev is,†Garry told High Performance.
“I know how talented he is. He's 29-1 in the sport. He's a
two-weight division champion. He's the most successful lightweight
champion of all time and had the most lightweight defenses of all
time. He is the current welterweight champion of the world. He came
up a division and won the title. He is tied for the longest active
win streak in UFC history, and if he wins his next fight against
me, he will break the record for the longest consecutive wins.â€

Despite his appreciation for Makhachev’s accomplishments and
skills, Garry remains confident that his own arsenal is enough to
dethrone the champion. “The Future” claims a victory over Makhachev
would remove any remaining questions about his standing in the
sport.

“When I beat him, there can be no doubt. When I beat him, it is
undeniable that I am great,†he added.

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MMA

Christian Leroy Duncan just put the UFC middleweight division on notice

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1 hour ago

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July 21, 2026

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Christian Leroy Duncan just put the UFC middleweight division on notice
Christian
Leroy Duncan claimed the biggest victory of his
Ultimate Fighting Championship career at
UFC Oklahoma City, where he beat former title challenger
Jared
Cannonier.

Duncan extended his winning streak to five with a unanimous
decision victory over Cannonier to further ascend the rankings. The
Englishman landed several significant strikes against the
42-year-old veteran, who managed to make it all three rounds.

Christian Leroy Duncan's UFC Oklahoma City victory over Jared
Cannonier strengthens his middleweight contender case

Duncan put on a show with his striking arsenal in the UFC Oklahoma
City co-main event and was especially effective with his spinning
attacks, dropping Cannonier and rocking the American a few
times.

“I knew Cannonier was tough, but for him to take some of the shots
and keep fighting, it surprised me,†Duncan said in a post-fight
interview, praising his counterpart’s ability to absorb heavy
shots. “He's called ‘The Gorilla’ for a reason.â€

With a win over a former UFC title challenger now under his belt,
Duncan believes his win streak warrants some big matchups next,
ideally in the divisional Top 10.

“I think that solidifies my place in the middleweight division,†he
added. “Potentially a single digit next to the name, and some big
fights ahead and big names.â€

The former
Cage Warriors champion's win streak comprises victories over
Andrey
Pulyaev, Eryk Anders,
Marco
Tulio, Roman
Dolidze and now Cannonier, with his UFC record standing at 8-2
after going 3-2 in his first five Octagon appearances.

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MMA

Kamaru Usman on UFC OKC loss: What were the judges watching?

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2 hours ago

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July 21, 2026

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Kamaru Usman on UFC OKC loss: 'What were the judges watching?'
Kamaru
Usman is disappointed with one of the judges' scorecards in his
loss to Dricus Du
Plessis.

Usman (21-5) faced fellow former
Ultimate Fighting Championship champion du Plessis (24-3) in a
middleweight tilt in the main event of
UFC Oklahoma City. The latter landed more significant strikes
from the onset, with barely any wrestling success for Usman. While
the former welterweight king found a second wind in the later
rounds, it was too little too late, and du Plessis earned a
lopsided unanimous decision victory.

Usman explains why he disagrees with Sal D’Amato’s scorecard
against Dricus Du Plessis

While he accepts the result, “The Nigerian Nightmare” is bewildered
by one of the scorecards. Judges David Sutherland and Mike Bell
scored the fight 49-46 in favor of du Plessis, while judge Sal
D'Amato had it 50-45 for the former middleweight champ.

Usman finished strong in the final round and had a strong showing
in the third frame as well. He can't comprehend what D'Amato was
watching and also revealed that his left eye was compromised in the
second round, which made it difficult for him to assess the
distance to shoot for takedowns. While du Plessis' fist was closed
in the punch that compromised Usman's vision, the South African's
thumb appeared to graze the eye. However, the fight was resumed
after a brief pause as the shot was deemed legal.

“I'm no sorry loser, but I mean, 50-45? What were the judges
watching? He's a big boy, and I knew he was going to be tough.â€
Usman said in his post-fight interview with Daniel
Cormier. “I said it all week. He is a tough dude. Early on, I
think it was a punch or a thumb, or kind of one of those weird
punches where you get the thumb in the eye. So, it was tough for me
to kind of gauge the distance and really commit to getting in on
getting the legs. But he is a tough dude… Hats off to him.â€

Usman was coming off a unanimous decision win over Joaquin
Buckley at welterweight that saw him rebound from a three-fight
slump. In the same post-fight interview, he revealed that dropping
back down to 170 pounds remains an option after he picked up his
second defeat at 185 pounds.


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MMA

PFL, Rizin make MMA history with double title fight at Super Rizin 5

Published

3 hours ago

on

July 21, 2026

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PFL, Rizin make MMA history with double title fight at Super Rizin 5
The
Professional Fighters League and
Rizin Fighting Federation are set to make history with a fight
that will have two titles on the line.

PFL and Rizin just announced a cross-promotional championship fight
for Super
Rizin 5 on Sept. 10 at Kyosera Dome Osaka in Japan.

Rajabali Shaidullaev and A.J. McKee will fight for both the PFL
and Rizin featherweight championships in Osaka

Rizin Featherweight Champion Rajabali
Shaidullaev (19-0) will face A.J. McKee
(25-2) with both the Rizin and PFL featherweight titles on the
line. Shaidullaev has finished all 19 of his career wins so far, 13
of them in the first round. The undefeated Kyrgyz champion has won
and defended his title thrice in less than a year. Meanwhile, McKee
is currently riding a three-fight winning streak.

“There have been several occasions in the past when a fighter has
entered another organization and challenged for that promotion's
championship,†Rizin CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara said in a statement. “This time, however, we are
attempting something unprecedented: placing the championship belts
of both organizations on the line in a single fight hosted by one
promotion.â€

“When I became CEO at PFL, I made it my mission to bring together
the best fighters and deliver the fights that the fans want to
see,†PFL CEO John Martin said. “Now, with this extraordinary
partnership, I can’t wait to honor that promise and bring a truly
unique and fresh opportunity for the MMA community to enjoy. For
me, it will be a special experience as I get to throw my full
support behind one fighter, and I'm looking forward to being cage
side to watch the “Mercenary†bring the titles to PFL.â€

The rest of the Super Rizin 5 card looks like this:
Mikuru
Asakura vs. Shinya
Aoki
Ren
Hiramoto vs. Karshyga
Dautbek
Yutaka
Saito vs. Ren
Sugiyama
Vugar
Karamov vs. Ryo
Takagi
Roberto
Satoshi de Souza vs. Shunta
Nomura
Daichi
Tomizawa vs. Ryo
Kawabata

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