Sherdog

Alexandre Pantoja has a unique perspective on the injury that abruptly ended his Ultimate Fighting Championship title reign. Pantoja suffered the injury just 26 seconds into his championship bout with Joshua Van in December last year. Van caught the then-champ’s kick and forced him backwards, forcing the latter to use his arm as a frame as he crashed into the canvas, causing the injury. The anticlimactic ending to the fight initially didn’t sit well with Pantoja, who now views it differently.

BKB 59 is scheduled for Sept. 19 at Auditorio Municipal in Tijuana, with Julian “El Guerrero Mexicano” Fernandez defending the BKB super cruiserweight world championship against former three-division champion Dan “Big Pod” Podmore in the main event. Fernandez enters the bout with a 3-0 record, while Podmore is 9-4 with eight stoppages. The vacant BKB super flyweight world championship will also be up for grabs when Tijuana's Cecy Ulloa faces Andy “The CrAsian” Nguyen in the co-main event.

Another former KSW standout will soon make his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut. Roberto Soldic brings knockout power and championship pedigree to UFC 332 against Kalinn Williams Former KSW welterweight and middleweight titleholder Roberto Soldic is one of the best European talents to have never competed in the Octagon and is finally heading to the UFC. News of the signing came during the recent UFC Paris event headlined by fellow former two-division KSW champion Salahdine Parnasse.

Manon Fiorot claims her upcoming bout against Alexa Grasso will determine the next title challenger. The French flyweight is set to take on the former Ultimate Fighting Championship champ at Noche UFC 4 on Sept. 12 in Glendale, Arizona. Manon Fiorot says Noche UFC 4 winner will receive a flyweight title shot Fiorot is coming off a win over Jasmine Jasudavicius, while Grasso finished Maycee Barber in her last outing.

Justin Gaethje targeted a predictable pattern in Ilia Topuria's movement at the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s White House event. Gaethje survived a difficult second round before taking control and forcing a corner stoppage to capture the lightweight title at UFC Freedom 250. He recently opened up about exploiting certain weaknesses in Topuria’s game.

Michael "Venom" Page has a tongue-in-cheek response to the aftermath of his Ultimate Fighting Championship exit. Page won via unanimous decision against Nursulton Ruziboev at UFC Paris, completing his UFC contract. Two days later, UFC CEO Dana White confirmed that the promotion would not re-sign the Englishman. Michael Page responds to criticism following the end of his UFC run Page went 5-1 across his six UFC appearances.

Islam Makhachev believes his teammate, Usman Nurmagomedov, is on his way to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Nurmagomedov recently completed his Professional Fighters League contract with a knockout victory over Archie Colgan, sparking discourse over where the undefeated lightweight will compete next. He previously discussed turning down a $2 million-per-fight deal from the PFL and Makhachev’s recent comments further indicate a UFC signing is imminent.

Roberto Soldic wants to stay in the Ultimate Fighting Championship even though his pay has significantly dropped. Soldic (21-4) recently signed with the UFC after his contract with One Championship expired. He is now scheduled to fight Kalinn Williams (16-5) in a middleweight bout at UFC 332 on Oct. 3 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City. The Croatian recently compared the pay between the two promotions.

Waldo Cortes-Acosta no longer considers Tom Aspinall the champion of the Ultimate Fighting Championship division. Aspinall’s first heavyweight title defense against Ciryl Gane ended in an anticlimactic no-contest in October 2025. The Englishman was unable to continue after Gane simultaneously poked him in both eyes in the first round. Aspinall has since been inactive, recovering from multiple eye procedures, but Cortes-Acosta claims he’s avoiding a rematch with Gane.

Michael Page's run in the Ultimate Fighting Championship is over and Jake Paul is looking to add him to the Most Valuable Promotions roster. Page completed his six-fight UFC deal with a unanimous-decision victory over Nursulton Ruziboev at UFC Paris on Sept. 5. Despite going 5-1 inside the Octagon, the UFC opted against offering the Englishman a new deal after failing to secure a single finish in the promotion.