MMA

Valter Walker says Bogdan Guskov is destined to become UFC champion

Published

3 weeks ago

July 20, 2026

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.

â€œBogdan is certainly a talent,â€ Walker told Red Corner MMA. â€œHe'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.

Valter
Walker believes his teammate Bogdan
Guskov has what it takes to shock the world when he faces
Magomed
Ankalaev in the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi on July 25.

â€œBogdan is a talent. He's simply a machine,â€ Walker told Red Corner
MMA.

â€œI think he's going to shock the world.â€¦ pic.twitter.com/ye8pdZS90x

â€” Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA)
July 19, 2026

MMA

RAF 13 adds matchup between Luke Rockhold and Joe Pyfer

Published

9 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

10 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

13 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