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Sean Strickland helms the UFC’s middleweight division and steadily gets in work with someone vying for gold in another promotion this weekend. The combatant in question is Johnny Eblen, who runs it back with Impa Kasanganay for a rematch with the interim middleweight belt on the line at PFL Austin on July 18th. The winner will battle lineal PFL middleweight champion Costello Van Steenis at a later juncture when the 185-pound titleholder gets off the shelf from his injury.

A combatant who battled Amanda Nunes for UFC gold is no longer a UFC contracted athlete. As reported by MMA Fighting, Irene Aldana is the fighter in question who will not be continuing her journey with the Ultimate Fighting Championship as of this juncture. The Mexican standout has not competed since a Fall 2024 setback to Norma Dumont, but Aldana still remained in the top ten rankings for contenders at 135 pounds before her departure from the promotion.

Alex Pereira’s former light heavyweight foe believes his post-fight attacks against referee Herb Dean are unwarranted. Former UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira’s bid to become the promotion’s first three-division titleholder fell short at the hands of Ciryl Gane at UFC Freedom 250 last month. In their interim heavyweight title fight, Gane finished Pereira by Round 2 TKO to secure a rematch against undisputed champion Tom Aspinall.

Former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor answered a flurry of questions asked by fans on his X account about his current mindset. Conor McGregor’s latest comeback attempt at UFC 329 ended in a serious right leg injury suffered just seconds into his fight with Max Holloway. After throwing a failed spinning kick as the fight kicked off, McGregor landed awkwardly on his right leg and suffered an injury that could sideline him for another year.

Kamaru Usman is moving back up to middleweight. Usman is set to take on Dricus Du Plessis in the main event of UFC Oklahoma City in what will be a fan-friendly fight. Although Usman is the former welterweight champion, he opted to move back up to middleweight to take on Du Plessis. Part of the reason why Usman is moving up in weight is that he calls himself a moneyweight fighter, so he doesn’t care what weight he has to fight at. “For me, I’ve always said this. I’m a ‘moneyweight’ fighter.

Volkan Oezdemir will not be returning to the Octagon anytime soon after being popped for EPO use. The UFC light heavyweight hasn’t seen action in 2026, and now we know why. “No Time” took to his Instagram page to reveal that he tested positive for the banned substance earlier this year. As a result, he has been suspended until June 17, 2027. Oezdemir admitted that he has no one to blame but himself for the situation.

Conor McGregor is taking the blame for being too aggressive in his return fight at UFC 329. McGregor has insisted that he felt calm going into his first bout in five years, which is actually something his opponent Max Holloway agrees with. The “Notorious” one didn’t get to showcase what he had been working on, however, as he went for a leaping kick and ended up landing the wrong way on his right knee.

Conor McGregor is targeting a trilogy bout with Max Holloway to make up for his unforeseen injury. McGregor had planned on making the walk for his first fight in five years, which is exactly what he did at UFC 329. What the “Notorious” one wasn’t expecting was for his rematch with Holloway to be stopped before the action ever truly got going. That’s because McGregor suffered a right knee injury when he awkwardly landed off a jumping kick attempt.

Dricus du Plessis and Kamaru Usman reached their contracted weights on Friday morning, and have now made their UFC Oklahoma main event official. Du Plessis and Usman are set for a collision course inside the Paycom Center on Saturday. Prior to fight night, “Stillknocks” tipped the scales at 185.5 pounds, while “The Nigerian Nightmare” clocked in at 186 pounds. The ceremonial weigh-in event is scheduled to take place at 7 p.m. ET.

Jared Cannonier believes he understands how the UFC’s business model works, but he thinks fighters at certain tiers should be given increases. Cannonier has been a member of the UFC roster since 2015. While he hasn’t captured the top prize in the middleweight division, the 42-year-old has consistently hovered around the top 10 and even top five rankings throughout his run. With 20 fights under the UFC banner, Cannonier still feels he hasn’t been compensated close to his actual worth.