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Islam Makhachev jokes his taekwondo black belt needs to be ‘checked’

Published

3 months ago

on

Islam Makhachev jokes his taekwondo black belt needs to be ‘checked’
Despite his extensive accomplishments in combat sports, Islam
Makhachev remains humble.

Makhachev recently received a black belt in taekwondo from his
coach, Seifulla
Magomedov, who is a four-time European taekwondo champion.
However, Makhachev, who is from Dagestan, humbly admits that the
credibility of his black belt is questionable.

Islam Makhachev questions new taekwondo black belt after
receiving promotion

Makhachev believes the black belt was more of a gift from his coach
than a well-deserved promotion.

“This belt we have to check,†Makhachev told MMA Junkie. “One of my
coaches is Russian Olympic team coach. He just give me. I call this
gift. Not something I really deserve.â€

Like many of Makhachev's one-liners, “checking belts†has become a
part of mixed martial arts folklore. The phrase was first used by
the reigning welterweight champion while discussing the threat
posed by fighters with black belts in jiu-jitsu. Makhachev famously
said that the credibility of jiu-jitsu black belts needs to be
checked, as there are too many being doled out.

Makhachev (28-1) defended the
Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight title four times,
the most in the division's history, before moving up to
welterweight, where he dethroned Jack
Della Maddalena to win the title last year. He is now scheduled
to defend his 170-pound title for the first time against Ian Garry
(17-1) at UFC
330 on Aug. 15 at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia.


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MMA

UFC 333 ‘Volkanovski vs. Evloev’ play-by-play, results & round scoring

Published

2 hours ago

on

October 24, 2026

By

UFC 333 ‘Volkanovski vs. Evloev’ play-by-play, results & round scoring

Sherdog’s live
UFC 333 “Volkanovski vs. Evloev†coverage will begin Saturday
at 10 a.m. ET.

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

The Official Result

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

The Official Result

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

The Official Result

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

The Official Result

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

The Official Result

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

The Official Result

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

The Official Result

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

The Official Result

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

The Official Result

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

The Official Result

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

The Official Result

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

The Official Result

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 4

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 5

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

The Official Result

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 4

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 5

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

The Official Result

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MMA

Movsar Evloev warns Alexander Volkanovski: He hasnt beaten anyone like me

Published

21 hours ago

on

October 23, 2026

By

Movsar Evloev warns Alexander Volkanovski: 'He hasn't beaten anyone like me'
Movsar
Evloev says he has pushed himself harder than ever ahead of his
first UFC title shot.

Evloev (20-0) is scheduled to challenge Alexander
Volkanovski (28-4) for the
Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight title at
UFC 333 on Oct. 24 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Ahead of the
bout, the unbeaten Russian discussed how his preparations have
differed from previous training camps.

Movsar Evloev details toughest training camp ahead of Alexander
Volkanovski title fight at UFC 333

Evloev said he increased his workload across all aspects of
training to address any potential weaknesses. He believes that
preparation will help him showcase his abilities in Saturday's main
event.

“This preparation is different just because I pushed more than
ever,†Evloev said in a pre-fight interview. “And we did more of
everything to make sure we didn't miss anything. He hasn't beaten
anyone like me. There's many things that make me special, like
unique. And I'm about to show it Saturday.â€

Evloev has long been considered a leading featherweight contender,
with Volkanovski acknowledging him as the most deserving
challenger. However, Diego Lopes
received a title rematch against Volkanovski earlier this year
before Evloev earned his opportunity. The Russian's lack of UFC
finishes has fueled debate about his wait for a championship bout,
though the promotion has not established it as the reason for the
delay.

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MMA

Joshua Van: Sean Strickland ‘in a bad spot’ in Dana White feud over UFC pay

Published

22 hours ago

on

October 23, 2026

By

Joshua Van: Sean Strickland ‘in a bad spot’ in Dana White feud over UFC pay

Joshua Van sides with UFC boss Dana White in his public feud with Sean Strickland.

For Van, the UFC's flyweight champion, the matter should have been discussed behind closed doors instead of a public forum like social media.

“He just signed a contract in May and fought Khamzat, and then he won,†Van told Outta Pocket. “Instead of going on Twitter and going on all that [expletive], he should have talked to Dana and said, ‘I wanna renegotiate.' Behind closed doors. Then the boss would have been like, ‘OK, let's talk about this, what you want?' You just beat the boogeyman. Now it's a whole mess.â€

“If you work at a 9-to-5 job and you go off to your boss and you're like, pay me this much. Like, what the [expletive]? You know what I mean? So he's in a bad spot right now. He's still under the contract. I don't know how that's gonna work.â€

A 25-year-old flyweight champion who started his professional MMA career when Strickland already had 14 UFC bouts under his belt, Van agrees with Strickland that fighters should get paid more.

However, he doesn't sound unhappy with his current UFC contract. Van recently defended his 125-pound belt with a decision over Alexandre Pantoja, his third title bout win in a span of 10 months, including a fifth-round TKO over Tatsuro Taira in the co-main event of Chimaev vs. Strickland.

“I'm getting paid good,†Van said with a laugh. “I think they pay me good amount; I don't know, but fighter that think they deserve more or—like, should we get paid more? Yes, but, I don't know, I'm happy where I'm at. I start from zero to now, the UFC literally made me where I'm at, gave me everything that I got right now. I don't know, I'm happy right now. I can't really say for the other guy.â€

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