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Paddy Pimblett criticizes Arman Tsarukyan’s lack of activity, tells him to stop ‘tickling people’ in RAF

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3 months ago

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Paddy Pimblett criticizes Arman Tsarukyan’s lack of activity, tells him to stop ‘tickling people’ in RAF

Paddy Pimblett can put himself directly back in title contention with a win over Benoit Saint Denis at UFC 329, especially after engaging in a five-round war with future lightweight champion Justin Gaethje back in January.

Despite the loss, Pimblett proved he could hang with the best of the best at 155 pounds and considering he survived 25 minutes with Gaethje while Ilia Topuria couldn't make it past the fourth round just adds another checkmark in his column. That said, Pimblett has openly stated that he knows it's probably going to take a win on Saturday and at least one more before the UFC would put him back in there against Gaethje again.

As far as other viable contenders for the belt, Pimblett scoffed at the suggestion that Arman Tsarukyan should be considered for that title shot after he's been out of action since October 2025 with no end in sight to his lengthy layoff.

“He needs to fight,†Pimblett said during UFC 329 media day on Wednesday. “He's had like one fight in three years and he beat an absolute bum. He needs to actually fight. Not go around in a singlet tickling people.â€

Of course, Pimblett referenced Tsarukyan's most recent win, which came against Dan Hooker in a lopsided performance for his fifth victory in a row overall. He also took aim at Tsarukyan's biggest activity happening in RAF rather than the UFC where he's become a mainstay in the freestyle wrestling promotion.

In fact, Tsarukyan is set to compete on Saturday at an RAF event in Georgia before returning to the United States for a showdown against Colby Covington one week later in Milwaukee. But none of those matches are happening in the UFC, which is Pimblett's biggest frustration with Tsarukyan whenever he's mentioned as a top contender at lightweight.

“[Fight] anyone. Just fight someone,†Pimblett said to Tsarukyan. “Get in the octagon and actually fight. Stop going around on your private jet eating food.â€

When it comes to his own fight, Pimblett is confident he'll dispatch Saint Denis on Saturday and take the necessary step forward to eventually clash with Gaethje again in the future.

Pimblett said he learned a valuable lesson from that first fight — ‘don't go to war with Justin Gaethje' — but he also knows there were mitigating factors that were working against him that night.

“I'm not going to use it as an excuse but the eye poke did change the fight in a big way,†Pimblett said. “The damage on my face was from an eye poke right hand.

“It wasn't just an eye poke. I felt his thumb touch my brain. So it was a bit heavy. I couldn't see for about two rounds after it.â€

Still, Pimblett praised Gaethje for the win as well as going out there and beating Topuria to claim the undisputed title. Now he's just hoping he'll get a second crack at Gaethje in the near future.

“Obviously with him winning and becoming undisputed champion, it looks good for me,†Pimblett said. “I said after he beat me, I said he was going to beat Ilia Topuria. I said it was fate that he beat me. It was his destiny to win the title at the White House. I was just in the way.â€

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Raoni Barcelos releases first statement since scary UFC Vegas 121 loss to Raul Rosas Jr.

Published

4 hours ago

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September 28, 2026

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Raoni Barcelos releases first statement since scary UFC Vegas 121 loss to Raul Rosas Jr.

Raoni Barcelos is “doing great†despite the frightening scenes in his UFC Vegas 121 main event loss to Raul Rosas Jr. this past weekend at the Meta APEX.

The 39-year-old bantamweight was ahead in the scorecards going into the final round and blacked out and collapsed unconscious for apparent no reason with less than three minutes left in the fight.

The UFC and Barcelos' team have yet to reveal what caused the incident, but the veteran fighter shared his first words in the comment section of a UFC Brasil post on social media.

“Hey everyone, I just want to let you all know that I'm doing great, and as soon as I can, I'll send a video to all of you,†Barcelos wrote in Portuguese. “Thank you so much for everyone's love, support, and prayers! I promised a great fight, and I delivered on that promise. Thank God, and thank you to everyone who fought alongside me, both inside and outside that cage.â€

On Sunday, just hours after the fight, Barcelos' head coach Davi Ramos released a statement to comfort fans, saying the athlete was “conscious†and under medical care in Las Vegas.

“Raoni is doing well,†Ramos said Sunday. “He has all his senses, he's moving his leg, his arm, his hand, he's conscious, he's talking, everything is fine with him. He's undergoing some tests, and pretty soon he'll be here to talk to you guys.â€

“I just wanted to let you know so you can all stay calm,†he continued. “Keep praying for him. He's undergoing all the tests that are standard in a situation like this. He'll have to rest because of what happened, but God willing, everything will be fine. He'll be here with us soon and he'll be talking to you guys. Thank you to everyone who's been sending messages, positive energy, praying and keeping all of us in your prayers.â€

Update: Ramos posted a video on social media from outside the hospital, standing next to other trainers, including Barcelos' father Laerte Barcelos, where he ruled out a stroke and heart attack. There's still no official work on what caused the issue.

“He did not have a stroke, it wasn't a heart attack, nothing like that, but we still don't have an explanation for what happened,†Ramos said. “We're waiting for the results of the other tests. But he is doing well.â€

Laerte joked that his son is desperate to be discharged from the hospital. According to his team, Raoni Barcelos is expected to post a video statement on social media soon.

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Alexander Volkanovski, Movsar Evloev recount past training session ahead of UFC 333 title fight

Published

7 hours ago

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September 28, 2026

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Alexander Volkanovski, Movsar Evloev recount past training session ahead of UFC 333 title fight

LOS ANGELES – Alexander Volkanovski and Movsar Evloev have taken a long road to the championship main event of UFC 333, but that won't be the first time the featherweights have crossed paths.

MMA Fighting's José Young spoke to Volkanovski and Evloev during UFC 331 fight week in Los Angeles, and learned more about how the fighters trained together years ago when Volkanovski was on his way to the top of the 145-pound division, while Evloev was wrapping up a run as M-1 bantamweight champion.

“I used to be a bantamweight at that time, it was before UFC,†Evloev said. “We just had a couple of rounds and yeah, we trained at the same gym before. Now he has his own gym in Thailand.

“He had just fought with [Chad] Mendes and he was about to fight with [Jose] Aldo.â€

Fast forward to now, Volkanovski is in his second reign as featherweight champion, having lost just once in his illustrious career when competing at 145 pounds. On the other side, Evloev has never been defeated, having boosted his pro record to 20-0 with a majority decision win over Lerone Murphy this past March.

Volkanovski recalls working with Evloev, but isn't dwelling on the past.

“I do remember us training, it was a long time ago,†Volkanovski said. “You can't go off training sessions then. As he said, he would have been young. All I worry about is how he's been looking in his last few performances.

“I think I know a few of the people he knows as well, so there's no ill feeling toward each other, he's a good dude, I've got a lot of respect for him, but come Oct. 24, we're going to go handle business and I plan on showing him that I'm the man.â€

Soon to be 38, Volkanovski is still competing at an elite level, having bounced back from a loss to Ilia Topuria with back-to-back title fight wins over Diego Lopes. Evloev hopes to see the best version of Volkanovski on Oct. 24 in Abu Dhabi, so the discussion in the aftermath is more about his ascendance than Volkanovski's decline.

“I'm expecting him to be at this level that when I beat him, nobody will say he's not like before,†Evloev said. “‘He's still good, but this guy is special.' I used to beat champions before UFC and when I beat them, people used to say, ‘OK, they wasn't that good like before. Maybe they get old or did not have good camps.' But I don't want to hear this one again, so I want him to be in his prime, in the best condition, so I can show my skills.â€

Volkanovski is promising to be at his best when he faces Evloev, though the challenger might regret what he's wishing for.

“I truly do believe after this fight, people will be saying, ‘That's one of Alex's best performances we've seen,'†Volkanovski said. “Does that mean I'm in my prime? Does that mean this is the best Volk that there ever was? No, I'm not saying that, but I'm saying stylistically in the fight I'm going to bring, I truly believe people will be saying that this is the best version of Alex they've ever seen.â€

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MMA

Dana White baffled by Max Kellerman’s Fury-Joshua claim

Published

9 hours ago

on

September 28, 2026

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Dana White baffled by Max Kellerman’s Fury-Joshua claim
Dana
White was left bemused by Max Kellerman's explanation of his
role in the Tyson
Fury-Anthony
Joshua saga.

Fury and Joshua are scheduled to meet Dec. 11 at Principality
Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, with the bout set to stream on Netflix.
The matchup was announced by the streaming juggernaut as a
collaboration between Turki Alalshikh and White's Zuffa Boxing.
However, Joshua's camp and Eddie Hearn seemingly aren't on
board.

Dana White disputes Max Kellerman's description of his role in
Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua

Kellerman claimed during the Zuffa Boxing 11 broadcast that White's
involvement isn't as a promoter but rather in an assisting role to
Alalshikh.

“Dana White's involvement in the fight, so people know, is purely
in assisting Turki Alalshikh, who has been the engine behind just
about every big fight in boxing over the last handful of years,â€
Kellerman said. “He's assisting Turki in a personal capacity, not
as a promoter.â€

White was subsequently asked about Kellerman's comments, and the

Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO revealed that he had no idea
what the analyst-commentator was talking about.

“I don't know where that came from,†White said. “That was weird.
We're promoting the fight right now. I've said 150,000 times I
don't know if I've ever known anybody who's more full of f*cking
shit than Eddie Hearn.â€

Hearn has previously emphasized that White should not be involved
in the fight, while Netflix's announcement identified the UFC boss
as a key part of the event. A press conference for Fury-Joshua is
expected to take place Wednesday, Sept. 30, although White wasn't
forthcoming about whether he plans to attend.

“I guess I'll leave that as a surprise,†White said.

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