Shavkat Rakhmonov doesn’t need a win over Stephen Thompson to feel like he’s worthy of a UFC title shot. In his mind, he’s already there. The undefeated Rakhmonov fights “Wonderboy” this Saturday at UFC 296 with a championship opportunity potentially on the line. Since making…

LAS VEGAS – Tatsuro Taira spoke to the media after UFC Fight Night 233 at Saturday’s post-fight news conference. Taira (15-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) answered questions from MMA Junkie and other media members after his second-round TKO of Carlos Hernandez. Japan’s Taira discussed being surprised…

LAS VEGAS – Steve Garcia’s win Saturday was a gory comeback that ended violently with opponent Melquizael Costa attempting a takedown on referee Chris Tognoni. With a highlight comes attention. Garcia (15-5 MMA, 4-2 UFC) thinks his victory at UFC Fight Night 233 showed the…

LAS VEGAS – It wasn’t how Andre Muniz envisioned a return to the win column, but he’ll take it. After 15 minutes of close action against Junyong Park at UFC Fight Night 233, Muniz (24-6 MMA, 6-2 UFC) had to sweat out the reading of…

LAS VEGAS – If the UFC is serious about going to Africa, Nasrat Haqparast says look no further than Morocco for the continental debut. Following his UFC Fight Night 233 knockout of Jamie Mullarkey (17-7 MMA, 5-5 UFC) at the UFC Apex, Haqparast (16-5 MMA,…

LAS VEGAS – Luana Santos has no excuses for her recent blunder on the scales. Ahead of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 233 at the UFC Apex, Santos (7-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) moved up a division to bantamweight, yet still came in heavy. She weighed in…

SAN FRANCISCO – Devin Haney is convinced that his superb performance Saturday night should solidify his place as “Fighter of the Year.” Haney has produced two career-changing victories in 2023 – a pair of 12-round, unanimous-decision defeats of highly regarded southpaws who’ve won multiple world…

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images Belal Muhammad wants his title shot and he’ll do anything to get it. It turns out that includes serving as the backup for the upcoming UFC 296 main event where Leon Edwards will defend the…

LAS VEGAS – Song Yadong doubled down on his callout of former bantamweight champion Petr Yan after a convincing win over Chris Gutierrez in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 233 main event. Song (21-7-1 MMA, 10-2-1 UFC) was dominant throughout five rounds of his headliner at…