Ryan Garcia won't be bound by guidelines if he ever signs with
Zuffa Boxing.

Garcia is scheduled to put his WBC welterweight title on the line
against Zuffa Boxing's Conor Benn on Sept. 12 at T-Mobile Arena in
Las Vegas. While the particulars of the bout are unknown to Garcia,
he believes it will be co-promoted. Furthermore, Garcia is certain
that he will not be wearing Zuffa fight gear and claims he will
never wear a Zuffa uniform even if he signs with the promotion.

Ryan Garcia explains why he would refuse Zuffa Boxing gear
while praising Dana White's new promotion

Garcia explains that he likes to express himself by designing his
own outfit and walkout music. He vows to never sign with Zuffa
Boxing if they don't allow him to express himself the way he wants.
However, Garcia complimented Dana
White for the way he is building up Zuffa Boxing.

“Even if I ever signed with Zuffa, I will make sure that I never
wear a Zuffa outfit,†Garcia told Ariel Helwani. “I’m wearing my
own outfits, doing my own thing. If you don’t like it, then I’ll
never sign with you. At the end of the day, I love the whole
‘design your outfit, design your walkout.' I’m not about to be a
robot. I don’t care how much money you offer me. I just love the
whole show of it and I feel like they should let certain fighters
do that. I would like to express myself… I think Dana White’s doing
an amazing job with Zuffa so far… I like how they run the press
conferences… I think it’s better.â€

Zuffa Boxing is White's venture into the world of pugilism. The

Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO wants to bring boxing under
a centralized UFC-style model, but is facing fierce competition
from traditional boxing promoters like Eddie Hearn.

“If I ever signed with Zuffa, I will make
sure that I never wear a Zuffa outfit. I’m wearing my own outfits,
doing my own thing.

If you don’t like it, then I’ll never sign with you… I’m not
about to be a robot, I don’t care how much money you offer me.”

“I think Dana White’s… pic.twitter.com/QOh7pIS3h0

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani)
July 22, 2026

Johnny Eblen (above) says a Sean Strickland fight would be
different outside the gym. | 📷: PFL MMA

---

Johnny
Eblen and Sean
Strickland never go easy on each other.

Eblen and Strickland have developed a strong friendship despite
training at different gyms. Moreover, Strickland frequently
campaigns for Eblen to get a
Ultimate Fighting Championship contract in the future. The
reigning UFC titleholder recently said that he wouldn't mind
putting his middleweight belt on the line against Eblen and the
latter would happily oblige.

Johnny Eblen explains why friendship would not stop a fight
with Sean Strickland

Eblen recently explained why he doesn't mind fighting Strickland
even though they are friends. He says he'd rather fight Strickland
for money since they anyway do it for free in the gym. Eblen
revealed that they go hard against each other in sparring sessions
and often use big gloves as they are both looking to land
damage.

However, Eblen clarifies that neither one is looking for a finish
if they see that the other is rocked. Having grown up wrestling
since the age of four, the interim
Professional Fighters League middleweight king is also no
stranger to competing against his teammates.

“I’d be happy to fight him,†Eblen told Ariel Helwani. “We fight
each other for free. It's not that we're trying to take away from
each other. We’re just competitors. Even when we spar, we spar
hard. It’s not easy rounds, man. We spar with big gloves because
we’re trying to crack each other. Obviously, if someone gets dazed
a little bit, we’re not trying to go in for the kill because we’re
training. But it’s just competition, man. I grew up competing
against my friends my whole life. I started wrestling from the age
of four and you wrestle your teammates all the time.â€

A welterweight
title fight headlines PFL Washington DC: Tune on Saturday, July 25
at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Eblen (18-1) knocked out Impa
Kasanganay en route to a third-round finish to win the interim
PFL middleweight title in Austin, Texas. Strickland (31-7) had
flown to Florida to help Eblen in camp at the
American Top Team.

Johnny
Eblen explains why he’d have no issue fighting Sean
Strickland despite their friendship:

“I’d be happy to fight him. We fight each other for free.

We’re just competitors. Even when we spar, we spar hard. It’s not
easy rounds, man. We spar with big gloves because we’re… pic.twitter.com/WTt9stC7ho

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani)
July 22, 2026

Bogdan
Guskov considers Magomed
Ankalaev the best light heavyweight in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Guskov (18-3) is scheduled to fight Ankalaev (20-2) in the main
event of
UFC Abu Dhabi on July 25 at Etihad Arena on Yas Island. Guskov
stepped up to accept the fight on 14 days' notice after Ankalaev's
original opponent, Khalil
Rountree, pulled out due to an injury.

If he comes out on top, Guskov is eyeing championship gold.

Guskov breaks down Ankalaev's standing after Alex Pereira
rematch loss

Despite Ankalaev not being the current champion, Guskov still
considers the Russian the best 205-pounder. The surging Uzbek
contender believes Ankalaev just had a “bad night at the office†in
his rematch against Alex
Pereira, in which he lost the title. As such, a win over the
former champion warrants a title shot, according to the
33-year-old.

“For me, Magomed is the strongest guy in our division,†Guskov told
MMA Junkie. “Second fight with Pereira is just one fight, bad day
in the office. And Magomed is still a dangerous and stronger guy in
our division… For me, the next fight is a title shot. We try to
take gold in the UFC.â€

Ankalaev was undefeated in 14 straight outings since 2018 before
his loss to Pereira. Meanwhile, Guskov was on a four-fight
finishing streak before fighting former champ Jan
Blachowicz to a draw in his last outing. He has finished all 18
of his career wins so far.

The belt is currently held by Carlos
Ulberg, who suffered an injury in his title-winning effort
earlier this year. UFC CEO Dana
White has since revealed that an interim title bout is likely
next in the light heavyweight division as Ulberg recovers.

Bogdan
Guskov thinks beating Magomed
Ankalaev at
#UFCAbuDhabi should get him a title shot.

“Magomed is strongest guy in our division. Second fight with
Pereira is bad day in the office.”

(via @MikeBohn)
pic.twitter.com/IiHagRBrEl

— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie)
July 22, 2026