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Matt Brown argues Tom Aspinall vacating heavyweight title creates more problems than it solves

Published

2 months ago

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Matt Brown argues Tom Aspinall vacating heavyweight title creates more problems than it solves

Tom Aspinall announced on Monday that he was vacating his UFC heavyweight title after suffering a setback in his recovery following multiple surgeries to repair damage done to his eyes following a fight against Ciryl Gane back in 2025.

It's a heartbreaking turn of events for Aspinall after he waited so long to become undisputed champion —while also trying to fight Jon Jones to for that title — but now he's out of action for an undetermined amount of time and the UFC has to figure out what to do with the heavyweight title. Technically, Ciryl Gane could easily just get promoted to undisputed champion after he defeated Alex Pereira at the UFC White House card to claim the interim belt but that doesn't solve the bigger problem when it comes to the overall heavyweight division.

Following his loss to Gane in June, Pereira went on the offensive claiming referee Herb Dean was partially to blame for his downfall after he failed to penalize Gane for illegal shots to the back of the head. Pereira has continued to call for a rematch and now it seems like he might actually get his wish but is that what's best for the Brazilian and the rest of the division?

“I think the downside of that fight – if Alex goes out and loses again, what does that do to his stock?†retired UFC welterweight Matt Brown said on the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer. “I know what he did at [middleweight and light heavyweight], it was amazing stuff. That shit's in the past. You're a heavyweight now.

“You lose twice, you're not fighting Tom Aspinall when Tom Aspinall comes back. I don't know what that does to his future of big fights. I don't know what big fights you make after that. That's what I mean by his stock. Everyone is going to respect Alex Pereira the same but what do “

There's little argument that Pereira is the biggest name at heavyweight right now as he already commands superstar status whenever he competes. If he can go out and avenge that past loss to Gane and become undisputed heavyweight champion, it's a history making moment for Pereira because he would be the first fighter in UFC history to hold titles across three divisions.

But the flipside to that result is Gane knocks out Pereira again and now one of the UFC's most popular fighters is stuck in limbo and the heavyweight diviiosn still doesn't look that much better in his absence.

“Maybe he beats Ciryl the next time. I would pick Ciryl to win, I picked him the first time but that's where it starts to hurt his stock at that point,†Brown said. “Guys can be resistant to that when you're Conor [McGregor level superstar] or Ilia [Topuria] or maybe even Alex but with him being 39 and you've got the other potentials in the division like [Josh Hokit] or Gable Steveson, if he loses that fight, the future doesn't look quite as bright for him as it's looked in the past.â€

While Gable Steveson is just starting out his UFC career, he's obviously got the potential to rescue the heavyweight division thanks to his wrestling pedigree where he's an Olympic gold medalist but he's probably still years away from compting for the belt.

The other option is the always outspoken Josh Hokit, who is undefeated and certainly not afraid to call his shot whenever he fights. The problem with Hokit is his outlandish behavior isn't exactly attractive for most fans and it's unclear if the powers-that-be at the UFC want to put a title around his waist.

Add to that, Brown acknowledges that Hokit's style could be a serious problem for anybody else at heavyweight including Gane and Pereira.

“Hokit's not a great matchup for [Pereira],†Brown said. “I'm sorry. I think it's a winnable fight for Alex and if Alex is able to win that fight, I think that's phenomenal win. It's going to get a lot of eyeballs, a lot of people would loves to see Hokit get knocked out.

“I think it would bring a lot more attention to Alex so it probably would be the fight to make. But that's not a bright future. If you lose to Ciryl Gane and then you're fighting Josh Hokit, that's not a great situation to be in.â€

As of now, the UFC hasn't made any announcements regarding the future of the heavyweight division with Aspinall vacating the belt and taking time off to recover from his eye injury.

It's impossible to know for sure what UFC CEO Dana White is going to decide but Brown knows the options are limited and not all that appealing right now.

“It sucks for Tom Aspinall,†Brown said. “It sucks for the UFC. It sucks for the fans. It just sucks for everyone involved.â€

Listen to new episodes of The Fighter vs. The Writer every Tuesday with audio only versions of the podcast available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and iHeartRadio

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MMA

PFL Dubai ‘Nemkov vs. Bilostenniy’ play-by-play, results & round scoring

Published

14 hours ago

on

November 14, 2026

By

PFL Dubai ‘Nemkov vs. Bilostenniy’ play-by-play, results & round scoring

Sherdog’s live
PFL Dubai coverage will begin Saturday at 9 a.m. ET.

A
heavyweight title fight headlines PFL Dubai: Tune in on Saturday,
Nov. 14 at 1 p.m. ET on the ESPN app.

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Tyler Treese scores the round:
Tudor Leonte scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

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Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 3

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Tudor Leonte scores the round:
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The Official Result

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Round 2

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Round 3

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The Official Result

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Round 2

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The Official Result

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Round 2

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Round 3

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The Official Result

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Round 3

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The Official Result

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Round 2

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The Official Result

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The Official Result

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Round 3

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The Official Result

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The Official Result

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Round 2

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Round 3

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The Official Result

Round 1

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Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 2

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Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Tyler Treese scores the round:
Tudor Leonte scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

The Official Result

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Tyler Treese scores the round:
Tudor Leonte scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Tyler Treese scores the round:
Tudor Leonte scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Tyler Treese scores the round:
Tudor Leonte scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

The Official Result

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Tyler Treese scores the round:
Tudor Leonte scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Tyler Treese scores the round:
Tudor Leonte scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

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

Round 4

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Round 5

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Tyler Treese scores the round:
Tudor Leonte scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

The Official Result

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MMA

Merab Dvalishvili doesn’t want to press charges against Usman Nurmagomedov, wants to help him get out of prison

Published

16 hours ago

on

November 14, 2026

By

Merab Dvalishvili doesn’t want to press charges against Usman Nurmagomedov, wants to help him get out of prison

Merab Dvalishvili doesn't want to make life harder on Usman Nurmagomedov.

On Wednesday, Nurmagomedov and a group of his associates attacked Dvalishvili and his friend Saba Lazishvili in the Yas Hotel lobby in Abu Dhabi ahead of RAF Abu Dhabi. The brawl resulted in 10 arrests, including Dvalishvili and Lazishvili, Nurmagomedov and the other five assailants, plus the two men who recorded the incident.

On Friday, it was reported that Dvalishvili and Lazishvili were released from custody and handed down a Dh50,000 ($14,000) fine for disturbing public security and assaulting others. Nurmagomedov and the five assailants, meanwhile, were sentenced to six months in prison for disturbing public security, causing panic and endangering lives, fined Dh300,000 ($80,000) each, and are set to be deported from the United Arab Emirates after serving their sentences. The two people who filmed the brawl were also sentenced to six months in prison and hit with a Dh300,000 fine each, and a deportation order “for violating privacy by using information technology to film and publish footage of the brawl.â€

But despite being the man who was attacked, Dvalishvili doesn't want Nurmagomedov and his friends to be stuck in jail.

“We don't want to press charges, nothing, bro,†Dvalishvili told Chris Weidman. “We say whatever we can to let them out; we try our best.â€

Dvalishvili also reiterated the same sentiment on his own social media.

Just want to let everyone know I have been released and I am good, healthy and ready to go . I want to thank everyone in Abu Dhabi for your help in resolving this matter. I love visiting Abu Dhabi and am happy to be welcomed. I do hope that they release everyone – I would not press charges. I want peace and the best for all. Thanks everyone for your love and support🦾

Understandably, the brawl caused quite a stir in the MMA world, and while most people seem to agree that Nurmagomedov's unprompted attack was wrong, some have defended his action, including UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev, noting that Dvalishvili slapped one of their friends at RAF Georgia earlier this year. Dvalishvili responded to that incident, saying they had talked things out shortly afterward.

“I got provoked in Georgia,†Dvalishvili told Weidman. “He told me, when I'm here, don't talk about Umar. When I go, [I] can talk about Umar. But he yelled it at me, Russian language, and I got provoked, and I reacted like every man would. But after this, when I realized I was in Georgia and all my Georgian guys wanted to fight him, I said we can't. I said, ‘You wanna handshake?' He said yes, and we shake hands. Done, done, done. That was just done.

“I love Dagestan, especially all the hard-working people, bro,†Dvalishvili continued. “All the wrestlers and fighters. Nothing about Dagestan. I respect. It was just between fighters. I respect all the Dagestani people.â€

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MMA

Norma Dumont leaves UFC with two fights left on her contract

Published

1 day ago

on

November 13, 2026

By

Norma Dumont leaves UFC with two fights left on her contract
Norma
Dumont has parted ways with the
Ultimate Fighting Championship despite having two bouts left on
her contract.

Dumont (13-4) has announced that she is no longer in the UFC,
saying she already knew the promotion wouldn't renew her contract
when it expired. She revealed that she had already discussed her
UFC exit with her fiancée and fellow UFC fighter, Marco Tulio
(14-3), with whom she wants to start a family after leaving the
UFC.

Norma Dumont addresses UFC exit, reveals potential boxing
retirement fight

Dumont also revealed that she has received an offer from another
mixed martial arts promotion to compete for a title, as well as
another offer to compete in boxing. The 36-year-old admits the
boxing offer is more lucrative and she's seriously considering
taking it.

“I'm here to announce my official departure from the UFC,†Dumont
said on Instagram. “I want to say that I'm very grateful for all
these years — it was eight years with them, it was wonderful for
me, it's where I built my career, it's where I built my financial
life, I changed my life and the lives of the people around me, I
met Marco Tulio, so for me it was something incredible that made me
very happy for many years. But I think now I need to breathe in new
places… I still had two fights left on my contract with the
organization, but since before my last fight, when there were still
three fights remaining, I already had information that the UFC
probably wouldn't renew once those fights were over. So, I had
already agreed with Marco that I would retire by the end of next
year, maybe sooner, because we want to build our family… And we
came to the conclusion that it's time to breathe different air, and
we’ve already been approached by other opportunities. One is in
MMA, fighting for a belt, and another is in boxing. Both offers are
very good, but I confess I'm more inclined toward boxing. It would
be an incredible opportunity and I think you'll see me in boxing
next year. Financially, it's worth it, and I think I'll have a lot
of fun. Since I got this offer, I've even been excited to get back
to training, but for now I still can't give any details. I leave my
thanks to the organization and to the fans.â€

Dumont made her UFC debut in 2020 and went 9-4 in the promotion.
“The Immortal†exits the UFC on a two-fight skid. She most recently
suffered a unanimous decision loss to Ailin Perez
this past September, which she believes she won.

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