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Jan Blachowicz’s comeback faces a dangerous new threat at UFC Belgrade

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Jan Blachowicz’s comeback faces a dangerous new threat at UFC Belgrade
Jan
Blachowicz’s journey back to title contention has taken another
unexpected turn.

The former
Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight titleholder
was originally slated to rematch Bogdan
Guskov at
UFC Belgrade on Aug. 1 in Serbia. However, those plans changed
when Guskov was offered the
UFC Abu Dhabi main event spot against Magomed
Ankalaev following Khalil
Rountree’s withdrawal.

As such, Blachowicz (29-11-2) will now square off against Navajo
Stirling in the new co-main event in Belgrade and the Polish
veteran is unfazed by the change.

Jan Blachowicz prepares for UFC Belgrade fight against Navajo
Stirling

After Guskov accepted the short-notice bout against Ankalaev,
Blachowicz was paired with Stirling. The former champion insists
little has changed in his preparation.

“I am doing this all my life,†Blachowicz said in a recent
interview. “It's a new opponent. I have a lot of respect for him,
but it’s just another fighter who I have to stop. I don't think
about this mess around because I don't want to waste energy for
that. Okay, it's a new opponent; that's it. We do small changes and
we are here to win the fight against him, or a different opponent
doesn't matter.â€

The upcoming matchup gives Blachowicz an opportunity to halt the
longest winless stretch of his UFC tenure. He has gone four
straight outings without a victory and is coming off a majority
draw against Guskov this past December. His last win came all the
way back in May 2022 when he defeated Aleksandar
Rakic.

He'll have his work cut out for him against the surging Stirling,
who boasts a perfect 10-0 record.

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MMA

Joshua Van reflects on knockout loss that changed his life

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Joshua Van reflects on knockout loss that changed his life
Joshua
Van hasn’t forgotten the night Charles
Johnson handed him the first loss of his
Ultimate Fighting Championship career.

Over two years after being stopped by Johnson, Van has gone from
prospect to UFC flyweight champion. The 24-year-old will return to
the Octagon on Sept. 19, when he rematches former champion Alexandre
Pantoja in the UFC
331 main event at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

Joshua Van details how KO loss to Charles Johnson ‘humbled'
him

Van was stopped by Johnson via a third-round knockout in July 2024,
a setback that remains the second and most recent loss of his
professional career. He has since won seven straight fights and
captured the flyweight championship from Pantoja before defending
it against Tatsuro
Taira.

Speaking to Paramount+, Van explained how the defeat changed his
approach to training and discipline.

“Oh, for sure. I want to stay active,†Van said. “Like I say, that
loss kind of humbled me in a way. So, I never want to taste defeat
again. So, my work ethic that I put in the gym is just different
from that day on.â€

Van said that he doesn’t believe he needed to completely overhaul
his fighting style after the loss. Instead, he said the focus was
on remaining himself and avoiding the mistakes that preceded the
Johnson bout.

“Going into that camp, there’s a lot of things that I did that I
shouldn’t have done,†Van added. “Stuff like that, but there’s no
excuse… He beat me fair and square. And it humbled me to become a
better fighter.â€

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MMA

UFC 332 adds four bouts as Salt Lake City card takes shape

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UFC 332 adds four bouts as Salt Lake City card takes shape
The lineup for the
Ultimate Fighting Championship's next trip to Utah is taking
shape.

Four bouts have been added to UFC 332,
scheduled for Oct. 3 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City. Notably, no
championship bouts have been announced for the card as yet, despite
the title fights for
UFC 333 already locked in and made public.

Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Payton Talbott and Johnny Walker vs.
Mick Parkin join UFC 332

Payton
Talbott (11-1) will look to build on the biggest win of his
career after defeating former two-division champion Henry
Cejudo by unanimous decision in December last year. The
27-year-old will take on another former UFC champ, Deiveson
Figueiredo (25-7-1), in his next bout. Talbott has won his last
two fights since suffering the lone defeat of his career to
Raoni
Barcelos.

Meanwhile, Figueiredo will attempt to halt a two-fight skid. The
former 125-pound champion has dropped four of his past five bouts,
with his lone victory in that stretch coming via split decision
against Montel
Jackson.

Also joining the UFC 332 card is a heavyweight clash between
Johnny
Walker (22-10) and Mick Parkin
(10-1). Both fighters enter the matchup coming off losses. Walker
is committing to a move up to heavyweight after a turbulent run at
205 pounds.

An explosive clash of strikers has also been confirmed for the
card, with Ateba
Abega Gautier (11-1) set to square off against Roman
Kopylov (15-5). Furthermore, Damian
Pinas, who competed at
UFC 329, takes on Andrey
Pulyaev.

Other previously confirmed matchups for the card include the return
of former title challenger Marvin
Vettori and Court
McGee's retirement bout.

The latest UFC 332 lineup, as of Aug. 18, is as follows:

Deiveson
Figueiredo vs. Payton
Talbott
Mick
Parkin vs. Johnny
Walker
Ateba
Abega Gautier vs. Roman
Kopylov
Damian
Pinas vs. Andrey
Pulyaev
Ismail
Naurdiev vs. Marvin
Vettori
Alden
Coria vs. Imanol
Rodriguez
Court
McGee vs. Eric
Nolan

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MMA

Dana White addresses Khamzat Chimaev’s potential UFC 333 return

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Dana White addresses Khamzat Chimaev’s potential UFC 333 return
Khamzat
Chimaev could finally return to action in Abu Dhabi.

Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana
White indicated that the middleweight is being considered, like
many fighters, for
UFC 333, although no bout has been finalized.

Khamzat Chimaev pushes for UFC return as Dana White weighs UFC
333 in Abu Dhabi

Chimaev recently took to social media, seemingly eager to return to
the Octagon.

“What are we waiting for? I want to fight,†he wrote on X while
tagging the UFC boss.

White addressed Chimaev’s future following
Week 2 of
Dana White's Contender Series 2026 after being asked about the
X post from the former champion calling for a return to action.

“I didn’t see it,†White said. “Yeah, I mean, he’s always in
conversation to fight. The whole roster is. I mean, everybody, in a
perfect world, everybody fights three times a year.â€

Chimaev lost the middleweight title to Sean
Strickland earlier this year, suffering the first loss of his
professional career. While he initially hinted at a move up to
light heavyweight after the defeat, “Borz†has been calling for a
rematch with Strickland for the past few months.

Furthermore, UFC 333, scheduled for Oct. 24 at Etihad Arena on Yas
Island, already has two title bouts and a stacked main card.
Alexander
Volkanovski is set to defend his featherweight title against
Movsar
Evloev and Petr Yan will
run it back with Merab
Dvalishvili in a trilogy clash for the bantamweight strap on
the card, leaving little room for another championship bout.


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