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Valter Walker says Bogdan Guskov is destined to become UFC champion

Published

11 hours ago

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Valter Walker says Bogdan Guskov is destined to become UFC champion
Valter
Walker believes one of his teammates is going to be an
Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholder soon.

Walker's friend and teammate, Bogdan
Guskov, is scheduled to face Magomed
Ankalaev in a light heavyweight outing, the main event of

UFC Abu Dhabi on July 25. Guskov took the fight on 14 days'
notice after Ankalaev's original opponent, Khalil
Rountree, pulled out due to an injury.

Walker backs Gor MMA teammate ahead of short-notice fight with
Magomed Ankalaev

Guskov is a big betting underdog going into the fight against
Ankalaev, who is a massive -500 favorite on some sportsbooks.
However, Walker is backing his friend to pull off a huge upset win
over the former light heavyweight champion. The Brazilian
heavyweight predicts that Guskov will knock out Ankalaev in the
second round. He also believes Guskov will go on to become the
first UFC champion from their gym, Gor
MMA.

“Bogdan is certainly a talent,†Walker told Red Corner MMA. “He's
simply a machine. I think there's a great chance that he will shock
the world. I think he can definitely win. I think Bogdan is going
to be our first UFC champion in Gor MMA. I think he might knock
Ankalaev out in the second round… I train with Bogdan every day,
so I know what he's capable of.â€

Guskov (18-3) hasn't lost in five straight outings since suffering
a submission loss in his UFC debut in 2023. The Uzbek 205-pounder
scored four straight finishes before fighting former champion
Jan
Blachowicz to a majority draw this past December. Meanwhile,
Ankalaev (20-2) lost his title to Alex
Pereira in their rematch in his last Octagon outing, marking
his second defeat in the UFC after he, too, was finished in his
promotional debut back in 2018.

Walker (15-1) takes on Thomas
Petersen (11-4) in a heavyweight matchup on the same card. “The
Foot Hunter” has finished four straight fights with heel hooks
since suffering his lone professional loss in his UFC debut in
2024. Meanwhile, Petersen has consistently alternated between wins
and losses in his six UFC outings.

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MMA

Colby Covington explains why RAF 12 matchup with Belal Muhammad is off

Published

19 minutes ago

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July 21, 2026

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Colby Covington explains why RAF 12 matchup with Belal Muhammad is off
The RAF 12 matchup between Colby
Covington and Belal
Muhammad is reportedly off just 24 hours after it was made.

Covington became the inaugural RAF crossover champion with a win
over Arman
Tsarukyan at RAF 11. Covington and Muhammad had a heated
exchange at the RAF 11 press conference, following which they were
booked for RAF 12 on Aug. 22, which has now seemingly fallen
through.

Colby Covington and Belal Muhammad's RAF 12 matchup ends after
tense confrontation

Covington now claims he has called off the booking against
Muhammad. The former
Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter says Muhammad's
unprofessionalism fueled his decision to cancel the booking.

Muhammad threw a kick at Covington during the press conference
before security intervened to stop things from escalating further.
“Chaos” is confident that the former UFC champion has no chance
against him on the wrestling mats and will instead try to fight him
and pull off other illegal stunts.

“We're gonna move away from the Belal matchup,†Covington told
Submission Radio. “He showed that he can't be a professional… He
stands up and throws a soccer kick at me and runs across the stage
to try to attack me like a f*cking filthy animal, like a
delinquent, like a criminal. It's just disgusting. There's no
professionalism on his side. Of course, the company knows I beat
him in 60 seconds or less in a wrestling match. We know he's not
gonna be able to wrestle me. He's gonna try to fight me; he's gonna
be unprofessional. So, we're gonna move on.â€

Covington is now open to defending his title in a rematch against
Tsarukyan. He is also interested in exploring other options such as
Michael
Chandler, Tyron
Woodley, Khamzat
Chimaev or Kamaru
Usman.


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MMA

I was devastated: Magomed Ankalaev reflects on first UFC loss in years

Published

2 hours ago

on

July 21, 2026

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'I was devastated': Magomed Ankalaev reflects on first UFC loss in years
Former
Ultimate Fighting Championship champion Magomed
Ankalaev has opened up about dealing with his last defeat.

The Russian is coming off his light heavyweight title loss in a
rematch against Alex
Pereira at
UFC 320 last year, and while the result was difficult to
accept, he's now only looking ahead.

Ankalaev discusses recovering from the Alex Pereira defeat
before facing Bogdan Guskov

While Ankalaev had dominantly dethroned Pereira in their first
outing, “Poatan” avenged the loss by knocking out the Dagestani
205-pounder in just 80 seconds in their rematch. The loss was also
Ankalaev's first since 2018, when he was submitted in his Octagon
debut.

Ankalaev admits that it hasn't been easy recovering from his last
loss, which was frustrating. However, the former champ has cleared
his head ahead of his return at
UFC Abu Dhabi. With fresh motivation to return to the win
column, Ankalaev vows that things will be different in his upcoming
fight.

“It's been a long time; I have wanted to come back,†Ankalaev told
Red Corner MMA. “I had some issues, injuries. It's been hard to
return. Everyone knows that the last fight was a frustrating loss.
It's fair to say I was devastated. But I'm back. Fresh thoughts,
cool head, if you will. Now everything is going to be completely
different.â€

Ankalaev (20-2) was originally scheduled to face Khalil
Rountree on July 25 at UFC Abu Dhabi. However, Rountree pulled
out due to an injury and has been replaced by Bogdan
Guskov on two weeks' notice.

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MMA

Dricus Du Plessis had a message after big UFC comeback win

Published

5 hours ago

on

July 20, 2026

By

Dricus Du Plessis had a message after big UFC comeback win
Former
Ultimate Fighting Championship champion Dricus Du
Plessis returned to winning ways at
UFC Oklahoma City.

Nearly a year after losing his middleweight belt to Khamzat
Chimaev, du Plessis returned to action in a five-rounder
against former welterweight champ Kamaru
Usman, earning a lopsided unanimous decision win. The South
African's return made him realize how much he loves and belongs in
the sport.

UFC champion Dricus Du Plessis explains his mindset after
beating Kamaru Usman

“Stillknocks” was clearly on top in the opening two rounds, with
Usman finding his range in the third frame before du Plessis
regained his momentum in the fourth. Usman found a second wind in
the final round, but it was too little too late for “The Nigerian
Nightmare,†who was on the wrong end of a 50-45, 49-46, 49-46
scorecard.

Having spent 11 months on the sidelines coming off a loss, du
Plessis believes that one can forget what it's like inside the
Octagon during a lengthy hiatus. However, as soon as the fight
commenced, he felt right at home.

“Especially when you are away for that kind of time, you almost
forget what it's like to be there, dancing under the lights,†du
Plessis said after the fight. “But man, tonight I just walked out
there again and I realized… This is what I live with… This is what
this is about… This is why I started this game. I loved going out
there and fighting, but more than that, I loved competing.â€

He further emphasized that the pressure he feels in front of
thousands of fans in attendance is exactly what gets the best out
of him.

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