MMA

RAF 11 Results: Belal Muhammad outworks Ben Askren in Askren’s final match

Published

3 weeks ago

July 18, 2026

The Punch Junkie™ News

RAF 11 Results: Belal Muhammad outworks Ben Askren in Askren’s final match

Ben Askren didn't win, but he's a winner simply for making it to the mat.

On Saturday night, Askren competed for the final time, losing by points to Belal Muhammad at RAF 11.

Last year, Askren suffered serious complications from pneumonia, flatlining several times, and ultimately requiring a lung transplant to survive. It seemed unlikely that Askren would ever compete again, but after a year of recovery and work, the former Olympian got himself ready for one final match. But it was an open question about how Askren would look in the match given his health complications, and while Askren didn't show off much of his classic â€œFunkyâ€ style, the man still has a strong foundation in fundamentals and put that on display.

Defense was the name of the game for Askren, who stuffed all offense from Muhammad, who was not particularly aggressive, perhaps out of deference to Askren's comeback story, or perhaps just respectful of Askren's wrestling pedigree. But give credit to Askren, who also did a phenomenal job of hand-fighting and not allowing Muhammad to gain any offensive purchase.

In the second period, Askren finally initiated offense of his own, driving Muhammad out for a takedown attempt, and then another, which forced Muhammad to open his offense up, but Askren remained stalwart.

Muhammad started to really press forward in the final period and finally scored a takedown on Askren, who was really fading down the stretch. And Muhammad took advantage, scoring again on Askren, who was really showing his exhaustion. He did his best to fend Muhammad off down the stretch, but once Muhammad took a lead, Askren had no real ability to come back, losing a decision to Muhammad.

After the bout, Muhammad put Askren over, imploring the crowd to give him a standing ovation, and then calling out Colby Covington.

Askren then took the mic to give his final thoughts before taking off his wrestling shoes, signifying his retirement.

â€œI get tired real fast these days. â€¦ I tried as hard as I could in the third period, but my legs wouldn't carry me any longer.

â€œFor sure my last time on the mat, and I love you guys. I really do.â€

MMA

RAF 13 adds matchup between Luke Rockhold and Joe Pyfer

Published

11 hours ago

August 9, 2026

The Punch Junkie™ News

RAF 13 adds matchup between Luke Rockhold and Joe Pyfer

Luke Rockhold returns to the Real American Freestyle mats next month.

On Sunday, RAF announced that Rockhold will face current top-15 middleweight Joe Pyfer in a catchweight bout at RAF 13 on Sep. 19 at Watsco Center in Miami.

A former UFC middleweight champion, Rockhold made his RAF debut at RAF 5 in January, where he lost by tech fall to Colby Covington. Rockhold does not have a significant wrestling background, though he did wrestle in high school and at community college before transitioning to grappling and MMA. Rockhold retired from MMA in 2022 and has spent the past several years trying his hand in various other combat sports.

Currently ranked No. 9 in MMA Fighting's Global middleweight rankings, Pyfer has a similar wrestling background to Rockhold, having mostly participated in the sport in high school, though he also has some experience in professional grappling events. Most recently, Pyfer knocked out former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya at UFC Seattle in March. This will be Pyfer's first match in RAF.

RAF 13 is supposed to be headlined by a cruiserweight crossover championship grudge match between Colby Covington and Belal Muhammad.

MMA

Tommy McMillen battles fellow undefeated prospect at Noche UFC

Published

12 hours ago

August 9, 2026

The Punch Junkie™ News

Tommy McMillen battles fellow undefeated prospect at Noche UFC

Tommy McMillen is getting his wish, but is now set for his toughest test to date.

McMillen, the longtime teammate and protÃ©gÃ© of former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley, faces Marwan Rahiki at the promotion's annual Noche UFC card on Sept. 12 in Glendale, Ariz. UFC's broadcast partner Paramount+ announced the bout on social media.

The 28-year-old McMillen called for a spot on the card in his home state following a record-setting performance in stopping Alberto Montes at UFC Oklahoma City in July. After earning a contract on the Contender Series this past September, â€œGunâ€ had a successful debut with a first-round finish of Manolo Zecchini at April's UFC Vegas 115 card.

Rahiki has entered fans' radars with a very aggressive finishing style inside the octagon. The 24-year-old has a pair of stoppage wins over Harry Hardwick and Ollie Schmid to kick off his octagon career.

Noche UFC is headlined by Jean Silva vs. Yair Rodriguez in a featherweight showdown.

MMA

Quillan Salkilld details potential injury following submission finish over Mateusz Gamrot: "I actually felt it"

Published

16 hours ago

August 9, 2026

The Punch Junkie™ News

Quillan Salkilld details potential injury following submission finish over Mateusz Gamrot: "I actually felt it"

Zuffa LLC

Quillan Salkilld delivered an emphatic first-round finish at UFC Vegas 120, but he may not have walked away unscathed.

Salkilld met his biggest name to date in Mateusz Gamrot this past Saturday. The Contender Series alum delivered by securing a first-round submission finish via rear-naked choke. The 26-year-old is on a fast track towards top five competition, as Gamrot was the No. 6-ranked lightweight on the Meta rankings panel entering the bout.

While Salkilld has raised his stock significantly, he'll be hoping to avoid time on the shelf amid a possible injury. Salkilld appeared on the UFC Vegas 120 post-show on Paramount+, and he recalled the moment he might've been injured (via MMAFighting).

â€œThere was a wrestling exchange at the start where he grabbed my ankle,â€ Salkilld said. â€œIf it was training, I would have kind of gone with it to not hurt the knee. He had my ankle and it turned to like 90 degrees. Because I was being stubborn in that position, I didn't want to accept any bad position. I turned into it and forced it. Usually I didn't want to do that because I'm always scared about hurting my knee in training.

â€œThis one, I just went into it and heard a little pop. Even when I had that rear-naked choke, I actually felt it. I was like f*ck, if I don't get this, my knee's going to be sore later. In round two or three, it would have been [sore]. It's a bit sore now.â€

Salkilld has been perfect ever since suffering a submission loss in his first pro MMA bout in early 2021. In addition to his 13-fight winning streak, Salkilld has finished his last four fights in the opening round. That includes a nasty head kick knockout over Nasrat Haqparast.

If Quillan Salkilld can avoid being sidelined, who should he fight next? Drop your opinion in the comments below.

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM