Arman Tsarukyan has repaid his debt to Dana White.

“Ahalkalakets” successfully made weight for his backup role at UFC 317 earlier this year in Las Vegas, proving to White and Co. that he remains capable of fulfilling his commitments despite withdrawing from the UFC 311 fight card back in January.

The reward appears to be a title shot against lightweight champion, Ilia Topuria.

“I’m not sharing my opinion, I’m sharing a fact with you: It’s Arman vs. Ilia,” retired UFC middleweight, Chael Sonnen, told MMA Junkie. “That is 100 percent the plan. He got put through purgatory and had to get out of it, but he did. When he showed up, got licensed, weighed in, went through a training camp and he has to sit in the first row and even watch Paddy ‘The Baddy’ get in the ring and get the attention and not him, I’m just saying, there is an appreciation, historically, that has shined down — and it’s also going to be shown to him.”

Tsarukyan was cageside for UFC 317, where Topuria captured the vacant crown by smashing former champion, Charles Oliveira. That led to an impromptu face off with bitter rival, Paddy Pimblett, though White argues the showdown “should’ve never happened.”

Then again, a lot of “wacky” things take place at lightweight.

Tsarukyan (22-3) is the highest ranked contender currently available and remains the most logical choice for Topuria’s first lightweight title defense; however, “El Matador” insists he would rather vacate the strap than throw down with “Ahalkalakets.”

“Matchup-wise, the hardest matchup for Ilia is Arman Tsarukyan,” Sonnen continued. “I think the world would lean toward Topuria right now. He’s just the flavor. He’s hot. He’s undefeated and he’s the champion of the world. (He) should be two-division champion, BMF champion, lineal-wise. But if Tsarukyan gets his hand on you, you’ve got a problem.”

UFC is expected to make an announcement on Topuria’s next fight in the coming weeks.

There was a time in the not-too-distant past when Luke Rockhold was the UFC middleweight champion and ranked No. 3 in the world on the promotion’s pound-for-pound list, just behind Demetrious Johnson and Jon Jones.

These days, the 40 year-old Rockhold is barely holding on to what’s left of his combat sports career, losing his last three UFC fights — which includes two losses by way of devastating knockout — before getting his teeth smashed in for BKFC.

That’s probably why he’s the underdog at Misfits Boxing 22.

Rockhold opened +220 for his “sweet science” debut against Darren Till, according to BetOnline.ag. “The Gorilla,” no stranger to the win column on the Misfits Boxing scene, clocked in at -260 — though odds will likely shift in the coming weeks.

Till and Rockhold collide on Sat., Aug. 30, 2025 at AO Arena in Manchester, England.

“I actually think Luke could have been a GOAT, like truly,” Till said at the kickoff press conference. “What gets Luke in trouble is his ego, his pride, how vain he is, and all that stuff. When you put that together as a collective, psychologically, he fails at it. And that’s what happens with Luke, his ego is too much. You can’t have an ego like this in this game.”

For much more on the upcoming Misfits 22 boxing event click here.

Ryan Garcia and Oscar De La Hoya are once again at odds. The boxing duo have been working together for many years now, though there have been rough waters along the way, with Garcia blasting his promoter, and vice versa.

Those hard feelings came to the forefront once again recently, after De La Hoya revealed that he was not interested in booking a rematch between Garcia and Rolly Romero, who defeated “King Ryan” earlier this year. According to “The Golden Boy,” he has no interest in re-booking the rematch, citing a lackluster performance from both men.

“No, I actually don’t (like the idea),” De La Hoya said during a recent boxing event (via Bad Left Hook). “Because the first fight was a dull fight, and when you’re a promoter and you’re trying to make rematches, it’s because the people wanna see it. The first fight wasn’t that entertaining, the first fight wasn’t a big deal.”

De La Hoya feels there are bigger fights to be made, and he could be right, including one against Teofimo Lopez.

“I believe there’s other opponents out there for Ryan. There’s other big names out there, big fights we can make with the likes of Teofimo and other fighters out there. But first things first, I need Ryan to be in great health.”

Around the same time, Garcia gave an interview to Ring Magazine confirming that a rematch against Romero was likely not to happen, which didn’t sit too well with him. According to the young pugilist, he takes that as disrespect from his promoter.

“I’ve always tried to mend the relationship and be the bigger person. I’ve said in the past that families fight, and always put it aside. But it’s really hard to deal with a promoter who’s really involved with himself. He loves the attention, still, even at his age. It just never works with his fighters, especially the ones who are the stars. You saw what happened with him and Canelo Alvarez.

“He causes a division in people, and he doesn’t know how to keep a good relationship. He likes to air people’s business and do things that a promoter shouldn’t. He’s always been coming at me. There’s always riff-raff. I don’t care that he posted the screenshot because I know my worth,” he added before saying a Romero do-over is likely on ice.

“After the Romero fight, they gave me the worst offer you can ever imagine. It was a bullshit offer. And then Oscar tried to take my rematch with Rolly and give it to Raul Curiel. I’ve been trying to get the Rolly rematch, and now you want to give it to another fighter?

“It’s a slap in the face, and it keeps happening over and over again. It’s disrespectful. There is no loyalty. It’s offensive, and they show me their true colors every time. I don’t want to be a part of a team like that, and that’s just the truth,” he added.

“Oscar doesn’t respect me. I don’t think he ever thought I was a good fighter, but frankly, I don’t care. I have one more fight left with him, and that’s it. If they can build another star, great. I want to move on.”

There will be no shortage of promoters who would be willing to pick up Garcia, including Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren, among others. For now, Garcia is on the hunt for his next challenge, which could be the final one under the Golden Boy banner.

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To checkout the latest boxing news and notes click here.

UFC middleweight contender, Reinier de Ridder, is one of the busiest fighters on the promotion’s roster, competing four times across the last eight months and racking up four straight wins in the process. That includes his hard-fought victory over former champion Robert Whittaker at UFC Abu Dhabi last month on “Fight Island.”

Sounds like “The Dutch Knight” is ready for a vacation.

“Every time since I joined the UFC, I had a fight lined up three days after the last fight,” de Ridder (21-2) told MMA Fighting. “But I don’t think it’s going to be like that this time. It will take a couple of weeks, I want to see at least the Khamzat-Dricus fight first and then we’ll see what happens. We’ll see. I think that’s smart to hold back for a little bit.”

Dricus Du Plessis will defend his middleweight title against Khamzat Chimaev atop the UFC 319 pay-per-view (PPV) card later this month in Chicago, with de Ridder (and the winner of this fight) being considered for the next crack at the 185-pound crown. Until then, former middleweight title challenger, Paulo Costa, wants to play spoiler.

Costa (15-4) returned to the win column by defeating Roman Kopylov at UFC 318.

“He really, really wants that fight I think,” de Ridder explained. “He really wants to set something up. Keep trying. Keep trying, Paulo. You’ll get there. He would be a fun buildup, would be very fun in the press conference and everything with Paulo because he’s a character. But right now I don’t think he’s there.”

De Ridder is ranked seven spots above Costa in the official middleweight rankings.

It’s been just about two weeks since Kevin Holland suffered a major upset loss at UFC 318.

Holland entered the event having won two straight, looking rather sharp in his latest return to 170-pounds. He was widely favored over Daniel Rodriguez, his older opponent who hasn’t been fighting particularly well in his last few appearances. “D-Rod” flipped the script, however, hurting Holland repeatedly with heavy power punches and ultimately outlasting the younger man down the stretch.

It was a great fight, but a seriously disappointing result for “Trailblazer,” who was promptly bounced from the Welterweight rankings and sent straight to the hospital. Given the damage absorbed and relative drop off in his performance, it would be reasonable to assume that the ultra active Holland would take some time off, right?

Wrong! In a recent update on X, Holland hinted at his next plan: October 4 in Las Vegas, Nevada. That’s the date and location of UFC 320, currently headlined by Magomed Ankalaev vs. Alex Pereira 2.

Clearly, Holland already has plans in motion for a return. That’s just about nine weeks away, which is roughly the average timespan for a UFC fight camp. A fight at UFC 320 won’t give Holland much of a chance to recover from his wounds or improve upon his game, but it would be another opportunity to pick up a paycheck.

Who would you like to see “Trailblazer” face next?

“Peace of Mind” will be back …

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Flyweight finisher Hyun Sung Park suffered his first professional loss on short notice at UFC Vegas 108 last night (Sat., Aug. 2, 2025). The South Korean was submitted in the second round by top contender Tatsuro Taira inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada (watch highlights).

Following the defeat, Park took to Instagram to address the setback with resilience and determination.

“Absolutely lost,” Park wrote in Korean. “It’s hard, indeed. I faced many challenges, but I’ve learned valuable lessons. I will grow from this experience and won’t give up. I’m climbing back up. This was a learning opportunity.”

“I’ll show you my best in the next match soon,” he continued. “I’m not frustrated. Thank you all for your support. And no more 7-day rush offers! Lmfao.”

Park (10-1) saw his impressive ten-fight win streak snapped, but his youth and talent suggest a strong comeback is imminent. “Peace of Mind” holds a 3-1 UFC record, all three wins by finish, which include a submission win over Carlos Hernandez (highlights) and a knockout of Shannon Ross.

The 29-year-old’s willingness to take on Taira on short notice shows that he’s a fighter with no fear and one to keep an eye on in the coming years.

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For complete UFC Vegas 108 results and play-by-play, click here.

A hardcore boxing fan just got some ridiculous ink of legendary heavyweight champion Mike Tyson and it actually might be the best combat sports tattoo of all time.

It’s no secret that Tyson is one of the most popular and beloved fighters in the history of boxing and any combat sport for that matter. The iconic knockout artist has one of the scariest highlight reels you’ll ever see and could still beat up 99% of the world’s population. He was just that good.

Given Tyson’s incredible success inside of the ring, he’s ultra-popular wherever he goes. This has created super fans who are willing to do just about anything to showcase their love for “Iron Mike.” The craziest fans of all spend thousands of dollars on custom tattoos paying homage to Tyson’s illustrious career.

One fan recently took things to the next level with one of the most detailed combat sports tattoo we’ve ever seen. It features Tyson in his prime throwing a power right, but the tattoo ends at the wrist so it appears as if the fan’s fist is Tyson’s glove. The tattoo artist threw in some clean background lighting to make the image really pop. It’s quite incredible and even looks better than the source photo.

Check it out below (via Ben Davis):

While we’ve seen some pretty gnarly combat sports tattoos over the years (and some questionable ones as well) this Tyson ink packs a serious punch. Not only for the detail, but the involvement of the canvas’ own hand is such a unique idea.

At the very least, we can all agree that it’s better than the Tyson vs. Jake Paul atrocity below:

The great violence era of the UFC Lightweight division is coming to a close.

Dustin Poirier’s retirement is merely the latest example. Those golden years where any match up of Poirier, Justin Gaethje, Michael Chandler, Dan Hooker, Eddie Alvarez, Charles Oliveira would produce elite fireworks are still recent history, but it turns out rapidly putting together “Fight of the Year” candidates ages you quickly. Plain and simple, those names are gone or on their way out. A couple are still holding on for one last run at gold, but the odds are very long.

Who will replace them as the next generation of Lightweight action heroes?

Last night (Sat., Aug. 2, 2025) at UFC Vegas 108, a handful of 155-pound up-and-comers put their name forward. Mateusz Rebecki, Chris Duncan, Esteban Ribovicz, and Elves Brenner all have an aptitude for violence and bloodshed to go alongside technical skill. Each of those unranked sluggers dream of a championship, but I’m sure they also hope to attain the fortune and fame that comes with being a well-known and proven action fighter. Athletes above like Hooker and Chandler never captured gold, but they became fan favorites and made a pretty penny in the process.

There are plenty of worse fates in combat sports.

Both Rebecki vs. Duncan and Ribovicz vs. Brenner were incredible fights. The former was the more high-level collision of the two, a bloody back-and-forth contest that saw Duncan’s accurate counter punching and heavy body kicks slightly edge Rebecki’s relentless pressure and wide swinging power shots. The latter was more of a showcase for Ribovicz, whose speed and power kept him in the driver’s seat until the final couple minutes, when Brenner’s counter punches began to land with some real stank. All told, it was 30 minutes of spectacular fighting.

The problem is very few people watched UFC Vegas 108, a card headlined by a Flyweight mismatch cobbled together at the last-second. Duncan just scored the best win of his UFC career, his third-straight upset victory. He should be looking at a Top 15 ranking or at least ranked match up, but who knows if he’ll actually gain any ground for an unseen win.

Ribovics, meanwhile, won the 2024 “Fight of the Year.” His reward? A trip to the empty warehouse that is the UFC Apex, where he put on another bloody and bonus-winning scrap versus Nasrat Haqparast that most people thought he won. The UFC put him in the Apex again last night. He styles on Brenner, picks up another bonus, and nobody sees it.

Neither his star nor Duncan’s grew last night despite objectively awesome performances and serious damage sustained. The hardcore fans appreciate their efforts and will tune in for their match ups, but that was already the case prior to UFC Vegas 108!

Lastly, like Ribovics, Mateusz Rebecki put on one of the very best bouts of 2024 in his previous appearance, an instant classic versus Myktybek Orolbai. It stands to reason that the athletes responsible for the best fights of the year in 2024 will continue to entertain in 2025. Why is the UFC rewarding incredible, must-watch performances with their soulless warehouse that only exists to fulfill contracts and extract ESPN money?

That venue will not create the next Dustin Poirier or Justin Gaethje.

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For complete UFC Vegas 108 results and play-by-play, click here.

With UFC Vegas 108 an official wrap after an exciting night (Sat., Aug. 2, 2025) of fights LIVE on ESPN/ESPN+ from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, fight fans can now check out the post-fight press conference video above for all the best reaction and official bonus winners.

On a night that featured a main event clash between flyweight contenders Tatsuro Taira and Hyun Sung Park, a co-headliner pitting lightweight powerhouse Mateusz Rebecki against exciting Scottish finisher Chris Duncan, and the return of touted featherweight prospect Kevin Vallejos, there will be a lot to discuss now that the action has concluded.

The post-fight presser is scheduled to go LIVE in the above video player around 12 a.m. ET (Sunday). It will feature the biggest winners and losers from the card, as well as UFC CEO, Dana White.

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For complete UFC Vegas 108 results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.

Neil Magny returned to the welterweight win column earlier tonight (Sat., Aug. 2, 2025) at UFC Vegas 108 LIVE on ESPN+ from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, stopping veteran Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos with an upset TKO (punches) in the second round.

Magny entered this weekend as a solid betting underdog coming off back-to-back knockout losses at the hands of Carlos Prates and Michael Morales. Those are two of the most dangerous fighters at 170 pounds today so fans expected Magny to return to form and deliver an all-around effort against dos Santos on Saturday night.

Following a competitive first round, dos Santos came out in the second and scored a nice takedown. The Brazilian fighter logged about two minutes of top time before Magny returned to his feet and delivered his comeback. After a brutal knee in the clinch that hurt dos Santos pretty bad, Magny was able to get a takedown of his own. Dos Santos tried getting back to his feet, but when he did Magny got a hold of his back, flattened him out, and punched until the referee stepped in.

Check out the finish in the above player!

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For complete UFC Vegas 108 results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.